They are closer to binary options on things other than stocks

That's gambling.

Depends

It's useful to keep the word "prediction" in there, and "gambling" implies almost total randomness so I'd rather use a word like "betting".

"Prediction betting" maybe? "News betting"?

Yeah, but then they (or at least Kalshi) advertise that you can get rich betting on tomorrow's weather.

I love the idea of prediction markets, AND I personally enjoy gambling, but legalized gambling has been a disaster in the united states, and (some?) prediction markets are shamefully leaning into that side of it as hard as they can.