A Prediction Market About the Past? Sure, Why Not!

As prediction markets surge in popularity, a new platform called Verifact Markets is pushing the concept even further, letting users trade on "disputed facts." Would you put money on whether Covid-19 originated from a lab? How about whether some of the footage from the Apollo 11 moon landing was actually filmed on Earth? Verifact Markets, a new startup that bills itself as a "prediction market for disputed facts," is betting that people will be eager to weigh in on questions like these. The company's premise is so quirky it sounds like something a couple of philosophy and economics majors dreamed after too many bong rips in their dorm room: Instead of wagering on the future, why not trade on stuff that already happened?