A Forbes article about the recent mass shooting that left eight children dead invited readers to play the odds on whether the tragedy would lead to new gun control laws — igniting a firestorm online.
The news site published a story Monday detailing the rampage, in which a 31-year-old Louisiana man is suspected of gunning down his seven children and their cousin between the ages of 1 and 14 at three locations in Shreveport.
The suspected gunman, Army veteran Shamar Elkins, killed himself after the massacre.
Embedded in the article was a “ForbesPredict” box asking: “Congress WILL/ WON’T pass new gun safety legislation before 31st December 2026?”
The feature then urged readers to “make your prediction,” offering a green check mark for yes and a red “X” for no. Sliding the cursor over each option changes the phrasing of the sentence.
The feature was widely blasted online as stunned readers recoiled at the idea of turning a child massacre into a prediction game.
One user on the social media app Bluesky simply wrote: “ghoulish.”
Another incredulously asked whether Forbes was effectively turning tragedy into a betting market: “Is this a futures market gambling play tied directly into a news app that I am looking at? On murder victims?”
Others were more blunt, calling the concept “Gross, evil, ghoulism” and likening it to a “casino with reality.”
“I hate it here,” one commenter added, while another described the feature as “very American.”
The controversial question didn’t appear in the article as of Tuesday afternoon.
In January, Forbes announced the launch of ForbesPredict, a platform designed to let readers forecast the outcomes of news events as a way to boost engagement and keep audiences on its site longer.
The tool, built in partnership with tech firm Axiom, allows users to make predictions on developing stories and track their accuracy over time — using virtual tokens instead of real money to “deepen engagement” and encourage repeat visits, according to the company.
“AI is fundamentally changing how people access information, and that shift is already starkly visible in publisher’s traffic,” said Nina Gould, Chief Innovation Officer at Forbes.
“Our response isn’t to chase scale, but to deepen engagement. ForbesPredict gives our audience a reason to return, participate and invest their thinking — not just consume headlines.”
