Google Removes Polymarket from News Results After Error

Google has removed links to Polymarket, a cryptocurrency-based prediction market platform, from its Google News results after they briefly appeared alongside articles from established news outlets. The incident, which surfaced in searches related to current events, prompted the company to acknowledge the listings as an unintended error.

The appearances occurred in various sections of Google News, including the personalized "For you" feed and search results for event-driven queries. In one reported example, a search for "will ships transit the strait," referring to the Strait of Hormuz amid regional tensions, displayed a Polymarket betting market on vessel passage directly below reports from outlets such as Reuters and The Guardian. Similar placements were noted for other topics, including Bitcoin price predictions, where Polymarket content ranked prominently, sometimes at the top of results. Follow-up searches conducted over the weekend showed no such listings, confirming the removal.

A Google spokesperson, Ned Adriance, told The Verge that the platform's inclusion violated the service's eligibility policies, which prioritize sources producing content on current issues and...