Social media influencers in the non-fungible token (NFT) space have amassed significant followings, playing a pivotal role within the Web3 community. However, their large followings come with the responsibility to act in good faith, as their tweets may influence their audience’s decisions on whether to buy or sell NFTs. This responsibility takes a darker turn when an influencer unintentionally promotes an NFT project that turns out to be a scam.
A recent high-profile example of this is the Pixel Penguins NFT collection. The collection claimed to be raising funds for an artist named “Sarah,” who was battling cancer. Several influencers caught onto this story and began promoting the project. In a short time, the collection sold out, raising its floor price significantly. But it wasn’t long before users on Twitter began to question the project’s legitimacy. Accusations that the artwork was stolen, and even that the cancer diagnosis was potentially fabricated to attract donations, stirred up controversy.
By the time the truth started coming to light, it was too late for many users who had already invested in the project. The funds raised went to various wallet addresses, making it difficult to trace the culprits. Affected collectors took out their anger on influencers who had promoted the collection. Influencer Andrew Wang, who was involved in promoting the collection, issued an apology, admitting he had not navigated the situation appropriately.
In the cryptocurrency and NFT space, investments carry substantial risk, especially when artistic or emotional value is attributed. It is challenging to separate genuine projects from scams, and social media influencers often find themselves in the role of trusted thought leaders. However, repeated scams in the N
Source: Coindesk
