Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

GameStop Removes NFT Inspired By 9/11 'Falling Man' From Its Online Store After Swift Backlash

GameStop Removes NFT Inspired By 9/11 'Falling Man' From Its Online Store After Swift Backlash
John Smith/VIEWpress/Getty Images; @ethangach/Twitter

Content Warning: September 11th, Suicide, "Falling Man"

Like many other tech-based companies, GameStop has become involved in digitized financial distribution, including the developing, selling, and purchasing of NFTs and NFT chains.


One particular NFT recently led to serious backlash for the big company, leading them to disable the NFT and much of its creator's abilities on the platform.

The NFT in question featured the famous photograph, "Falling Man," taken by photographer Richard Drew as he saw a man falling from one of the Twin Towers in New York on September 11, 2001. The man presumably had jumped, as many other victims did, knowing that the Towers would not withstand the attacks.

The conversation found its way to Twitter.

"Falling Man" remains one of the most iconic images from the event, so many traders noted that the new NFT was the same photograph, simply with an astronaut superimposed over the original man.

Before being disabled, the NFT was selling for nearly $1,000, and GameStop was calculated to have received approximately $100 in commissions from the NFT being traded on their platform.

But after complaints rolled in against GameStop for featuring the NFT with the sensitive 9-11 content, the company made the decision to remove the image from the platform.

Viewers were appalled by the content of the photo.




The creator of the image is still a part of GameStop's Creator Program, and the folder they created with the image inside, simply titled, "Astronauts," and containing other images with superimposed astronauts, still exists.

It's also been noted that the creator's other artwork is not original art but simply highly digitized and edited photographs, using a range of AI to assist in the creation of these new images.

Some of the creator's other pieces have since been taken down from their NFT positions due to other service violations on the platform.

While followers of this incident could agree that people have a right to their freedom of speech and that art should also be a free form of expression, this NFT was still pushing its possibilities much too far.

Surely if they wanted to make a political statement, they could employ an astronaut in a different historical landscape.

More from Trending

YouTube screenshot of Marlon Wayans
Blocks w/Neal Brennan

Marlon Wayans 'Ashamed' To Admit He Initially Tried To 'Hypnotize' His Child Not To Be Trans

Marlon Wayan's is "ashamed and embarrassed" to admit that he tried to "hypnotize" his child out of being trans.

The White Chicks star sat down with Blocks podcast host Neal Brennan, where he revealed he was not initially accepting of his child Kai's transition.

Keep ReadingShow less
adults with toddler on beach
Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

People Share Things Their Parents Did For Them That They'll Never Forget

Our relationships with our parents can be complicated. Let's face it: most people didn’t grow up in a family like the ones on TV shows like The Waltons.

But there are usually moments in a child's life that seem like they were plucked straight out of a primetime family-friendly film. Maybe they were rare, or maybe they were common.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Kerry Chaput; someone voting
@kerrywrites/TikTok; Simpleimages/Getty Images

Woman's Powerful Video About Who She 'Took' With Her To Drop Off Her Ballot Has Us Sobbing

TikToker and author Kerry Chaput went viral with her video about voting in the 2024 election and taking "a few people" with her—and people are moved.

She said:

Keep ReadingShow less
Lucas Kunce; Josh Hawley
Lucas Kunce/Facebook; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Dem Candidate Claps Back After Josh Hawley Mocks Gun Range Accident That Injured Reporter

Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley mocked his Democratic opponent Lucas Kunce after a reporter was injured by shrapnel during a campaign event at a local gun range—and Kunce hit him with a blunt reminder.

A reporter from KSHB-TV was struck in the arm by a piece of stray metal while Marine veteran Kunce fired an AR-15-style rifle at targets during an event at a home in the exurbs of Kansas City.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Kamala Harris; Donald Trump
CNN; Scott Olson/Getty Images

Kamala Harris Releases Epic 'To-Do List' After Viral Trump 'Enemies List' Jab

After saying during Wednesday's CNN town hall that she will have a "to-do list" as president while former President Donald Trump will have an "enemies list," Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign released that "to-do list" full of the policies she will fight for as president.

Harris's appearance gave her the opportunity to respond to questions from undecided voters about some of her policy initiatives. Above all, she was clear that if Trump wins, “he’s going to sit there, unstable and unhinged, plotting his revenge, plotting his retribution, creating an enemies list.”

Keep ReadingShow less