Edward Snowden to launch charitable NFT collection
Notorious whistleblower Edward Snowden to drop NFT in collaboration with PleasrDAO and Daniel Ellsberg.
Edward Snowden and Daniel Elisberg collaborate on NFT drop
In a groundbreaking move, political activist and whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg and Edward Snowden have come together to create an NFT artwork that will be auctioned off to support their respective causes.
The piece, titled “Wouldn’t You Go to Jail to Help end this war?”, is conceptualized as an NFT on Ethereum and will be sold through a new interactive livestream show called PleasrHouse from the Web3 collective known as PleaserDAO.
Proceeds from the sale of “Wouldn’t You Go to Prison to Help End This War?” will be shared between the Freedom of the Press Foundation and the Daniel Ellsberg Initiative for Peace and Democracy.
The NFT artwork is a tribute to Ellsberg and his publication of the Pentagon Papers in 1971. The release of the Pentagon Papers exposed the truth behind the United States’ hidden escalation of actions in the Vietnam War, including previously undisclosed coastal attacks on North Vietnam and operations carried out by the Marine Corps that were not reported by mainstream news outlets.
The collaboration between Ellsberg and Snowden on this project highlights the intersection of art and activism in the digital age and the potential for NFTs to serve as a powerful tool for social change.
The first episode of PleasrHouse, set to air on January 12th, will focus on Ethereum NFTs and include an interview with Ellsberg and Snowden, footage from a documentary by PleasrDAO, and of course, the auction of the aforementioned collaborative NFT artwork.
The creation of PleasrHouse follows the successful auction of another NFT artwork by Snowden, “Stay Free”, which was purchased by PleasrDAO in March 2021 for a winning bid of $5.4 million ETH. The funds generated from the auction were used to support the operations of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, of which both Snowden and Ellsberg serve as Board members.
The evolution of PleaserDAO: From NFT purchases to aid for Ukraine and revolutionary live auctions
PleaserDAO was founded by digital artist Emily “pplpleasr” Yang in March 2021, with the initial goal of purchasing an NFT from Yang herself. However, the collective quickly expanded to include other high-profile purchases such as Wu-Tang Clan’s 2015 album “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” which was purchased for $4 million in October 2021.
In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, members of PleasrDAO formed the Ukraine DAO which raised millions in cryptocurrency to provide aid to the Ukrainian government and NGOs working in the region.
PleasrDAO describes PleasrHouse as a new experiment designed to disrupt the traditional experience of live art auctions. The goal of PleasrHouse is to make the auction experience more accessible and entertaining for viewers, while also educating them about art, the internet, society, and culture through interviews, Q&A sessions, and other original content.
This new and exciting venture by PleasrDAO, with the collaboration of Ellsberg and Snowden, aims to bring more education, excitement, and entertainment to the art-buying experience, along with raising funds for important causes. This is definitely an auction that art and tech enthusiasts, as well as supporters of free speech and transparency, won’t want to miss.
