Less than two weeks into its smooth launch, GameStop’s NFT market is already courting controversy. Among the NFTs listed on the platform is an paintings known as “Falling Man” that was . There’s no mistaking it, the NFT references one of the most iconic photos of the early twenty first century. “The Falling Man” is a part of a collection of pictures captured by Associated Press photojournalist Richard Drew on the morning of September eleventh, 2001. Of the two,753 individuals who died contained in the World Trade Center and surrounding space that day, it’s estimated that at the very least 100 people fell to their dying whereas the towers had been nonetheless standing.

“This one probably fell from the MIR station,” says the NFT’s description, referencing Russia’s decommissioned area station. The paintings’s creator is promoting two completely different variations of “Falling Man,” with the most affordable listed at 0.65 Ethereum or about $990. As Web3 is Going Great factors out, GameStop operates a curated NFT market. Artists should apply and cross a vetting course of earlier than they’ll listing their tokens on the market. The firm takes a 2.25 % minimize of gross sales. GameStop didn’t instantly reply to Engadget’s remark request.

Artistic theft is a significant challenge within the NFT area. On platforms like OpenSea the place folks can mint tokens without cost, . While you might make the argument that “Falling Man” doesn’t fall into these classes and that artists needs to be free to reference previous works and tragedies, it’s additionally true that this NFT trivializes the falling man’s destiny, lowering his remaining moments into one thing to be bought for a revenue.