The global science exploration platform National Geographic has received massive backlash from some crypto users and followers after launching its first non-fungible token collection in partnership with Snowcrash on the Polygon network.

Key Takeaways:

  • National Geographic launched its first NFT collection on the Polygon network in partnership with Snowcrash, featuring nature-themed works by 16 photographers.
  • Despite National Geographic’s efforts to educate its audience about NFTs, the initiative faced backlash, with critics labeling NFTs as a “bubble” or “scam.”
  • Some NFT artists defended the project, suggesting the backlash stemmed from a lack of understanding about digital collectibles.
  • Technical issues were reported by users minting National Geographic NFTs, adding to the challenges of the launch.
  • National Geographic is not alone in facing criticism for NFT ventures, as similar backlash has been experienced by other platforms like Netflix in 2022.

Nat Geo Launch Its First NFTs On Polygon Chain

Earlier this week, National Geographic shared a detailed explainer on its social media platforms to attract the audience of its hundreds of fans of the 135-year-old nature-centric magazine ahead of its NFT launch.

In the explainer blog, ‘Nat Geo’ posted a teaser image of the famous Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection and detailed the rise and future of NFTs to prepare the crypto community and fans for its nature-inspired NFTs.

Established in 1888, National Geographic is a global science exploration and education platform with more than 256 million followers on Instagram, 49 million on Facebook, and well over 28.6 million on Twitter.

Nat Geo Faces Backlash After Launching Its NFTs

National Geographic launched its collection, featuring artwork from 16 photographers, including Justin Aversano, Reuben Wu, Cath Simard, and John Knopf, on January 17.

Unfortunately, shortly after launching its genesis NFT collection, Nat Geo received massive negative comments, with many calling NFTs a “bubble” bullsh..t while others described them as an outright scam and another way of money laundering.

On the other hand, most NFT artists leveraged the podium to defend National Geographic NFTs, suggesting that the majority of rebel fans weren’t educated enough about digital collectibles. Nonetheless, those minting Nat Geo NFTs reported technical problems.

Nat Geo is not the first media platform to face such a community backlash. In June 2022, the video streaming and production platform Netflix faced a similar community backlash when it created free NFTs to promote its latest season of “Stranger Things” film.

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