By Sharan Kaur Phillora
First National Geographic NFT Launch Meets Massive Backlash
National Geographic has launched its first NFTs on Polygon and posted a detailed explainer of the technology on social media—prompting outright rage from hundreds of fans of the 135-year-old nature-centric magazine responding with rage.
Here’s what we know:
NatGeo’s Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook accounts posted an image of a Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT Monday with a caption detailing the rise of NFTs, which are unique blockchain tokens that signify ownership.
The social media posts were designed to prepare the magazine’s mainstream audience for its own NFT drop on Polygon, which dropped Tuesday and features work from 16 different photographers including Justin Aversano, Reuben Wu, Cath Simard, and John Knopf.
The response to NatGeo merely mentioning NFTs on its social media accounts was met with an overwhelming number of negative comments, calling NFTs a “bubble” that “already popped,” “bullshit,” “an extinct species,” and even “another way to launder.”
Even the manager of acclaimed photographer Ansel Adams’ account chimed into the conversation, replying to NatGeo’s Instagram post about NFTs with a simple “Nope.”
Those interested in minting NatGeo NFTs have also reported technical problems. The mint, engineered by NFT platform Snowcrash, appears to be facing ongoing technical issues. More than 13 different Twitter users expressed their issues with the mint site.
National Geographic has since deleted its social media posts featuring the BAYC NFT across its Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook channels.
About the author
Sharan Kaur Phillora’s thirst for knowledge has led her to study many different subjects, including NFTs and Blockchain technology – two emerging technologies that will change how we interact with each other in the future. When she isn’t exploring a new idea or concept, she enjoys reading literary masterpieces.
