Kalshi AI ad used an Asian YouTuber's video and changed his appearance, creator says

A Kalshi ad used a creator's video, YouTuber says

Elliot Choy, a popular Asian YouTube creator, says an AI-generated advertisement for Kalshi used his video and changed his appearance. Kalshi is a prediction market, a platform where people trade on the outcome of future events.

Choy posted a screenshot on X showing Kalshi's advert next to his original New York apartment video. He said, “I guess Kalshi saw this and thought they should steal my video, turn me into a white dude, and run it as an ad.”

The post went up the day before the Protos report was published.

The main claims at a glance

• Choy says Kalshi's ad used his video and changed his appearance with AI.
• A correspondent at NPR confirmed the Kalshi advert was real and reported that Kalshi is reviewing its relationship with its marketing agency.
• Kalshi says the advert was old and that it no longer uses AI-generated ads.
• A second AI-generated Kalshi ad was widely criticised online.
• Kalshi has also been denying wash trading allegations this week.

Kalshi says the ad is old and no longer in use

Bobby Allyn, a correspondent for NPR, confirmed that the Kalshi advert was real. He also reported that the company is reviewing its relationship with its marketing agency.

Kalshi told Allyn that the advert was old and that it no longer uses AI-generated ads. The advert was promoted this week on YouTube and was spotted by Choy.

When Protos asked Kalshi for comment, the company did not add anything further about the AI ads beyond what it had already told Allyn.

A second Kalshi ad drew criticism

Another AI-generated Kalshi ad has also been mocked online. It is made in the style of a Pixar animation and shows a couple in financial trouble, with cheating as its main theme.

By the end of the video, one partner reveals that she is not cheating. She says she is gambling on egg prices through Kalshi, using what she knows from running a bakery.

Users described the ad as “cringe,” “out of touch,” and “insane.” Some noted that the animation style might make it appealing to children. Others suggested that the woman shown in the ad might be insider trading, which means trading using information that is not public. One user said, “this ad is just showing gambling addiction.”

Kalshi also denies wash trading allegations

Kalshi has faced separate scrutiny this week over claims of wash trading. Wash trading means buying and selling the same asset to create the appearance of activity that is not genuine. Kalshi was forced to deny a series of these allegations.

The Wall Street Journal found $5 billion worth of uniform $5,500 trades across Kalshi's ETH perpetual volume in one month. The report built on findings by quant analyst Benoit Dubosson, who decided to investigate the platform after falling out with Kalshi's crypto lead, IcoBeast.eth.

Kalshi told Protos, “We have not been contacted by the CFTC and don't believe there is any formal examination.” The company says the pattern of uniform trades “are typical of liquidity incentive programs and common in financial markets,” and implied that some online discussion against it was “rumors seeded by competitors.”

Unconfirmed claims about paid posts and user numbers

Some users have speculated that Kalshi paid popular X accounts, many of them unrelated to prediction markets, to share its rejection of the wash trading allegations. Others say they spotted Kalshi inflating user metrics by boosting the number of people chatting. These claims have not been confirmed.

What is confirmed

• Choy posted a comparison of his original video and the Kalshi advert, and says the advert used his video and changed his appearance.
• NPR's Bobby Allyn confirmed the advert was real and reported that Kalshi is reviewing its relationship with its marketing agency.
• Kalshi said the advert was old and that it no longer uses AI-generated ads.
• Kalshi said it has not been contacted by the CFTC and does not believe there is a formal examination.
• Kalshi said uniform trades are typical of liquidity incentive programs.

What is still unclear

The sources do not say whether Kalshi has ended its relationship with the marketing agency, or when the ad was made. It is also not explained why the advert was still being promoted on YouTube this week if the company considers it old. The claims about paid posts and inflated user numbers remain unconfirmed.

Why this matters

The reports raise questions about how Kalshi markets its prediction market to the public and whether trading activity on the platform is genuine. Both issues are being discussed publicly at the same time, while the company denies wrongdoing on the trading side and says it no longer uses AI-generated ads.

Sources

• Protos