Edward Snowden Sells New NFT to Support Press Freedom

Whistleblower Edward Snowden launched his second NFT collectible after partnering with political activist Daniel Ellsberg to create some digital artwork.

The NFT auction was a live-streamed interactive show called PleaserHouse on the PleasrDAO platform. The Ethereum NFT offers a one-of-a-kind piece of history – a digital representation of the Pentagon Papers.

The sale proceeds will be donated to two incredibly important organizations: the Freedom of the Press Foundation and the Daniel Ellsberg Initiative for Peace and Democracy. Both foundations work together to protect press freedom, promote peace and fight against the suppression of truth.

The NFT was eventually auctioned for 14.69ETH.

The collaboration between Snowden and Ellsberg is a tribute to the release of the Pentagon Papers in 1971, aptly titled Wouldn’t You Go to Prison to Help End This War?

The live stream featured interviews with Ellsberg and Snowden, clips from a documentary produced by PleasrDAO, and of course the NFT auction.

Speaking of the NFT auction, PleasrDAO Head of Marketing Chris Eberle said both Snowden and Ellsberg were ideal partners to collaborate with, and were looking forward to raising more money after Snowden’s NFT auction.

‘We got to know Snowden and the Freedom of the Press Foundation when we acquired Snowden’s ‘Stay Free’ NFT,’ said Eberle. ‘It’s an amazing piece, and the funds raised from the auction funded a year-plus of Freedom of the Press Foundation operating costs.’

PleaserDAO Making Big Strides on NFT Auction Market

PleaserDAO has made big strides in the NFT market since launching in March 2021. The DAO was formed and named after digital artist, Emily “pplpleasr” Yang with a single purpose in mind – to acquire one of her NFTs.

Then in April 2021, the DAO won an auction with a $5.4m bid for one of Edward Snowden’s NFTs, saying they wanted to support the whistleblower’s cause. Since then, members of the DAO and Snowden have collaborated, resulting in the launch of the new interactive livestream.

The NFT commemorates the historic court ruling that declared the National Security Agency’s mass surveillance to be illegal and boasts the iconic picture of Snowden taken by photographer Platon.

How PleasrDAO Works

PleasrDAO is a group of anonymous buyers who are passionate about decentralization and using the DAO to benefit society. The artist pplpleasr has become an honorary member.

It provides collective ownership of the DAO via tokens, with each individual member receiving a portion of its assets – such as two NFTs and funds in the treasury.

Additionally, all members get to partake in governance decisions through an integrated group chat platform. If any member wishes to exit the DAO, their tokens would go up for sale in the group chat.

And with a view to collecting more NFT artwork, PleasrDAO members will also vote on other directions the DAO intends to take. This includes building smart contracts, angel investment and incubation.

And with someone as notable as Edward Snowden collaborating with the DAO, it should only go from strength to strength.