News Service Shamed Into Canceling Sale of NFT of Desperate Migrants

The Associated Press had planned to sell an image of desperate migrants packed into a small boat as an NFT. The wire service planned to sell a photo depicting migrants in bright orange life jackets in an overcrowded boat in the Mediterranean Sea as they made a bid for safety, according to the Guardian.

The AP was called out by journalists and media industry workers as well as other activists.

"That sure looked a whole lot like an attempt to make money off the plight of desperate migrants."

The Associated Press has deleted a tweet advertising an NFT that sure looked a whole lot like an attempt to make money off the plight of desperate migrants. pic.twitter.com/mZXu8r6rhe

— Caroline Orr Bueno, Ph.D (@RVAwonk) February 24, 2022

The NFT marketplace is still up, but the publication apologized, according to the Guardian.

This was a poor choice of imagery. Lauren Easton, the global director of media relations and corporate communications at the Associated Press, told the Guardian that it will not be auctioned. The NFT marketplace is a very early pilot program, and we are immediately reviewing our efforts. AP's mission is to inform the world with accurate, unbiased journalism.

NFT For Thee

The improper distribution of wealth and profit is one of the major issues with NFTs. The Pussy Riot founder raising money for Ukraine is one of the creators who put the money to good use.

Independent artists get no benefit from their work being sold online because of the small problem of stolen art. It's almost like a guarantee that no migrant on that boat would ever see a dime from a NFT auction.

It's nice to see a publication taking responsibility for a bad choice and walking back their auction, even though some creators have lost out on thousands of dollars because of NFT scam.

NFT scammers are using a trick to make their JPGs look like they are worth a lot.

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