CNN has announced a partnership with prediction market platform Kalshi to incorporate real-time market data into its television, digital and social coverage. Under the agreement, Kalshi’s prediction market prices will be displayed through a live data ticker and referenced across CNN platforms when relevant to reporting and analysis. The integration will cover areas including politics, culture, weather and current events, and CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten is slated to use Kalshi data in on-air reporting for both linear broadcasts and CNN’s streaming subscription service, according to Axios.
Shortly after CNN’s announcement, the business network CNBC announced an exclusive partnership with Kalshi that will add Kalshi prediction market data to its programming beginning in 2026, according to CNBC’s release. The partnerships will expose television audiences to real-time betting odds on a range of topics, from election outcomes and corporate earnings to weather and economic indicators.
Prediction markets cover a wide variety of questions. Examples include the likely winner of an election, projected weather outcomes in a specific city, federal jobs data releases, or expectations for statements made during corporate earnings calls. Some markets address humanitarian crises and other matters of life and death; 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 (IPC) issued a related declaration on Aug. 22, 2025. Other platforms, such as Polymarket, have offered markets on topics related to displacement, military strikes and territorial changes in the Israel-Palestine context, including questions about mass population relocation, strikes on Gaza or the West Bank, and potential annexation.
Different platforms have different rules about permissible markets; some topics are offered while others are excluded. The availability of specific markets varies by operator and over time.
News organizations do not directly control the outcomes of world events, but their coverage can influence public perception and behavior, which in turn can move markets. The pairing of media outlets with prediction markets raises potential conflicts of interest and ethical questions. For example: will journalists and on-air staff be prohibited from participating in related markets to prevent insider trading or market manipulation? Will editorial teams be insulated from the commercial arrangements tied to the betting products? And might coverage priorities shift toward topics that generate greater viewer engagement or wagering activity?
Neither CNN’s nor Kalshi’s initial announcements detailed specific safeguards or conflict-of-interest policies related to the partnerships. Observers have also noted connections between startup investors and defense or national security interests. Two of Kalshi’s largest backers, Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital, have been reported to have investments in Israeli defense-related companies, according to Politico. At Sequoia, partner Shaun Maguire has publicly expressed strong support for Israel and spoken about the role of technology in information operations; at a defense technology summit in Tel Aviv he discussed the importance of developing AI tools for information warfare, as reported by Calcalist.
Commentators have raised concerns about how prediction markets might interact with information operations and media narratives. For example, Kalshi’s price-based probability on Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani’s chances in the New York mayoral primary was reported at around 8% in February 2025 by local coverage cited by SI Live; critics argue that emphasizing such market odds in news coverage could affect perceptions of electoral momentum. Prediction markets and polling have long been discussed in relation to their influence on public expectations, and integrating market data into mainstream news could amplify those effects.
The partnerships also involve public figures with political ties. Kalshi named Donald Trump Jr. a strategic advisor earlier in 2025, a move reported by Kalshi’s news page, which observers note could raise additional questions about influence and optics.
Observers and critics have argued that the combination of mainstream news distribution and commercial prediction markets raises issues including potential dehumanization of complex crises, opportunities for corruption or market manipulation, and a shift in incentives for editorial decision-making. Supporters of prediction markets typically argue they can surface collective judgments and provide liquidity and efficient aggregation of information; critics counter that markets are vulnerable to gaming, insider information, and the commodification of political and humanitarian events. Some reporting has linked prediction market activity to instances of content manipulation or unauthorized edits in conflict-related contexts, as documented by independent outlets.
Kalshi’s co-founder Tarek Mansour has described a long-term vision of extending tradable markets to many aspects of public life, framing prediction markets as a way to convert differences of opinion into tradable assets. This framing has prompted debate about whether political opinions and civic processes should be treated as financial instruments or remain primarily civic, ethical, and social questions.
Advocates and critics disagree about the implications of incorporating prediction market data into newsrooms. Proponents say it can provide additional signals and engage audiences; critics warn it may further blur the line between news reporting and entertainment or commercial activity, and could reduce complex issues to speculation. The debate centers on whether such integrations can be managed with appropriate safeguards, transparency and editorial independence, or whether they will alter news incentives in ways that affect public understanding and accountability.