NFT praises Islamic extremists, raises concerns about use of blockchain to spread terror
Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal report said former senior US intelligence officials identified a simple NFT from a “terror sympathizer” who praises Islamic terrorists, indicating that Islamic The state is looking to blockchain and NFTs to raise funds and run promotional campaigns.
The NFTs in question are the first known cases of the use of an increasingly popular technology in activities that may be directly or indirectly linked to terrorism. However, experts warn that the blockchain being anonymous and immutable could attract terrorists to use its applications to spread terrorist messages and evade sanctions.
The digital token was discovered from pro-ISIS social-media accounts by Raphael Gluck, co-founder of US research firm Jihadoscope. The NFT, dubbed IS-News #01, contains text praising Afghan terrorists for attacking Taliban positions. It is also a symbol of Islamic State.
Users created two other NFTs on August 26, explained Mario Cosby, a former federal intelligence analyst specializing in blockchain currencies. The analyst said one of them trains IS fighter students to develop explosives, while the other denounces smoking cigarettes.
These NFTs could be an experiment by terrorist groups to test whether emerging technologies can be used to spread their messages and develop new funding strategies.
“It’s a very […] To find ways to make the material indestructible,” Gluck said.
The NFT was reportedly listed on the digital token marketplace OpenSea. However, the company took it down immediately and banned the poster’s account. It also reminded users that the marketplace has a “zero-tolerance policy on inciting hatred and violence”. Similar phenomena were observed in several other NFT markets, including Rarible.
According to Cosby, it appears that despite the tokens not being traded, their existence is already a concern:
,This is about as censorship-proof as you can get. There really isn’t much anyone can do to take this NFT down.”