Edward Snowden Pentagon Papers NFT to be auctioned via Live PleasrDAO Show
by James · January 10, 2023
Famed whistleblower Edward Snowden and political activist Daniel Ellsberg have collaborated on a piece of Ethereum NFT-based artwork, which will be auctioned off to help fund their respective causes via a new live-streamed interactive show called PleasrHouse from Web3 collective PleasrDAO.
“[PleasrDAO] got to know Snowden and the Freedom of the Press Foundation when we bought Snowden’s ‘Stay Free’ NFT, says Chief Marketing Officer Chris Eberle at PleasrDAO. Decrypt. “It’s a fantastic piece and the funds raised from the auction funded a year plus of running costs for the Freedom of the Press Foundation.”
As Eberle explains, Snowden and Ellsberg—both foundation board members—came up with the idea of co-creating a piece honoring Ellsberg and his release of the Pentagon Papers in 1971, titled “Wouldn’t You Go to Prison to Help End This the war?”
The first episode of PleasrHouse this Thursday, January 12th will focus on Ethereum NFT and will feature an interview with Ellsberg and Snowden, the art auction and clips from a PleasrDAO produced documentary.
“We had been working with a Web3 auction house, and this piece ([with] (these heralds) were a perfect fit for the first episode,” Eberle said.
Launched in March 2021 and named in honor of digital artist Emily “pplpleasr” Yang, PleasrDAO was originally formed to purchase an NFT of the famous digital artist. The following month, PleasrDAO won the auction of an NFT artwork created by Snowden with a winning bid of $5.4 million in ETH. At the time, PleasrDAO said it offered NFT to support the concept of transparency, saying Snowden changed the rules of the game for that particular ideal.
In October 2021, PleasrDAO purchased Wu-Tang Clan’s unique 2015 album “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” for $4 million. The album was previously owned by infamous pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli and was confiscated by the United States government following Shkreli’s securities fraud conviction.
After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, members of PleasrDAO came together to form Ukraine DAO, which raised millions in cryptocurrency to send to the Ukrainian government and NGOs operating in the area.
PleasrDAO describes PleasrHouse as a new experiment designed to disrupt the shared experience of traditional live art auctions. While the first show centers around the work of activists and whistleblowers, DAO says viewers can expect a wide range of online experiences in future entries.
“PleasrHouse is a live-streaming late-night talk show that culminates in a high-profile art auction,” Eberle said. “Imagine the educational elements of a PBS documentary, the entertaining parts of SNL, the experimental energy of Adult Swim, the intimacy of a podcast interview, and the excitement/fanfare/sophistication of a Sotheby’s live auction.”
Wanting to bring more drama to the auction experience, Eberle says PleasrHouse aims to provide an entertaining and accessible live experience that educates viewers about art, the internet, society and culture through interviews, questions and answers and other original content.
PleasrDAO says the proceeds from the sale of “Wouldn’t you go to jail to help end this war?” will be shared between the Press Freedom Foundation and the Daniel Ellsberg Initiative for Peace and Democracy.
