Spotify Cuts 500,000 Fake Streams, Demotes Malcolm Todd Hit as Betting-Market Scrutiny Deepens
Updated
Updated · PCMag · Jul 4
Spotify Cuts 500,000 Fake Streams, Demotes Malcolm Todd Hit as Betting-Market Scrutiny Deepens
3 articles · Updated · PCMag · Jul 4
Summary
Spotify said Malcolm Todd’s “Earrings” hit No. 1 partly through manipulation, then removed more than 500,000 artificial streams and dropped the song to fourth.
The platform tied the activity to coordinated betting on prediction markets including Polymarket and Kalshi, and asked both companies to remove Spotify’s logo and wording implying chart verification.
Polymarket said it is investigating but called the allegations implausible because Malcolm Todd was not listed as an option on that specific Spotify market.
Amanda Fischer of Better Markets told Wired such music-linked betting markets appear readily susceptible to fraud, raising questions about whether platforms properly screened them before listing.
The case adds to wider scrutiny of both streaming fraud and prediction markets, after a 2024 bot-streaming arrest and recent Polymarket-related criminal and promotion probes.