CNN has announced a partnership with prediction market operator Kalshi to display real-time market data across its television, digital and social platforms. According to Axios, Kalshi’s data will appear via a live ticker and be referenced by journalists across TV and CNN’s streaming service. CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten is reported to be involved in integrating these real-time insights into on-air reporting.
The day after CNN’s announcement, CNBC disclosed a similar exclusive agreement with Kalshi, saying it will begin incorporating Kalshi market data into its programs in 2026. The markets that viewers can observe or participate in include routine items such as election outcomes, weather, official economic statistics and corporate earnings. However, some markets have addressed humanitarian and conflict-related topics, raising questions about the appropriateness of wagering on events with serious human consequences.
For example, Kalshi previously offered a market asking, «Will the IPC classify Gaza as experiencing famine this year?», which was settled affirmatively after the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification issued a famine declaration on Aug. 22. Other platforms, such as Polymarket, have offered markets tied to population displacement and military actions affecting Gaza and the West Bank.
There are also notable asymmetries in what markets are offered: some betting products focus on violence or hardship affecting Palestinians, while markets predicting specific attacks by other parties are less evident.
Reporters and broadcasters do not control events, but media coverage can shape public perception and influence markets. Bringing prediction market data into mainstream news broadcasts therefore creates potential for interaction between editorial content and speculative activity.
This intersection raises several ethical and practical concerns: potential conflicts of interest if news organizations profit from wagering activity; the need for rules to prevent newsroom staff from betting on events they cover; possible effects on editorial decision-making if coverage is influenced by topics that drive viewer engagement and market activity. CNN’s and Kalshi’s statements about the partnership did not, in their public releases, provide detailed explanations of safeguards to address these issues.
Questions about investor ties and broader industry connections also arise. Major venture investors in Kalshi include firms that have financial relationships in Israel’s technology and defense sectors, and some individuals affiliated with those firms have publicly advocated for using technology in information operations. These overlapping interests prompt inquiries about whether market offerings and investor positions could create perceived or real conflicts around coverage of related events.
There is concern that integrating market data with news coverage could amplify particular narratives. For example, when Kalshi listed an 8% chance for a candidate to win a mayoral race, commentators wondered whether prominent distribution of that probability in mainstream coverage could affect voter perceptions or campaign momentum. Betting markets may magnify such effects, similar to how polls can influence public narratives.
Kalshi has also sought advisory and promotional relationships with public figures; Donald Trump Jr. was named a strategic advisor earlier this year. That kind of involvement raises additional questions about potential conflicts and the influence of high-profile affiliates on both markets and public perception.
Critics have raised broader concerns that prediction markets for news events can contribute to dehumanizing treatment of suffering, create incentives for manipulation or insider trading, and prioritize monetizable content over public interest journalism. Proponents argue such markets provide liquidity and aggregate information, but opponents caution that sensitive topics are particularly vulnerable to ethical problems and manipulation.
How much market activity might shape coverage-and whether such feedback loops could become self-fulfilling-remains an open question. Integrating speculative market signals into reporting could influence what audiences see as likely or important, and that influence could in turn affect market prices.
Advocates for markets often justify them on grounds such as improved information aggregation and market efficiency. Critics counter that news-focused markets are especially susceptible to manipulation and insider advantages, and that they can turn conflict, humanitarian crises and public policy into tradable commodities rather than subjects treated primarily on ethical and civic terms. Kalshi’s co-founder Tarek Mansour has described a broader vision of making many differences of opinion tradable assets, a stance that highlights the tension between financializing public affairs and preserving journalism’s civic role.
Bringing a commercial gambling element into news programming signals a shift in how information is presented and monetized. Observers worry this could further emphasize entertainment and engagement metrics over investigative reporting, moral assessment or calls to action-unless coverage aligns with prevailing geopolitical priorities. The introduction of prediction market data into broadcast news therefore raises questions about editorial independence, public interest obligations and the appropriate role of media in covering suffering, conflict and political life.