A Betting Market for Conspiracy Theories ⇥ wired.com

Kate Knibbs, Wired:

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?

If you bet the Moon landing was faked, you could get a 10:1 payout if your bet comes true. Except there is already plenty of evidence the Moon landing was not filmed in a studio that to call it a “disputed fact” is braindead, and the only people betting it was faked will not accept the outcome. Also, Knibbs reports any of these individual betting pools can expire if the company determines there is not enough evidence either way, so this is not going to resolve any supposedly “disputed facts”.

This is so idiotic — so utterly devoid of meaningful thought — that it will either collapse in less than a year, or it is going to further wreck the minds of some of the most powerful people in the world.