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Markkula Center for Applied Ethics

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Could Morning Money Manipulate Election Betting Markets?

Subramaniam Vincent, director of journalism and media ethics, quoted by Politico.

Placing bets on political outcomes could become a legally sanctioned reality. Should it? What are the ethical implications of such a market?

A challenge for regulators would be defining political market influencers and insider interests from the media, said Subramaniam Vincent, director of journalism and media ethics. 

“Which journalists, social media influencers, YouTubers, podcast hosts, company managers, and even media investors are we going to bar?” Vincent said. Doing so would echo the challenges social media companies faced in their attempts to bar political advertising, or limit political content, during elections.

“Defining what is political was contested,” Vincent added. “What is political content is a cultural question and can be a blur. Trying to draw technical boundaries on it for policy reasons is itself too complicated. Attempting prohibition lists for political market bets is even harder.”

 

Subramaniam Vincent, director of journalism and media ethics, quoted by Politico.

 

Ethics
media, journalism