SNEAK PEEK
- BAYC is accused by Anonymous of using cryptic symbolism to troll and push an “accelerationism” agenda.
- Intentionally branding their products with occult symbolism associated with Nazism and other extremist ideologies, BAYC and Yuga Labs are accused of complicity.
- The group wants to shed light on the accusations and is urging additional investigation and amnesty.
Anonymous, a decentralized activist group, has released a brand-new video describing in detail their investigation into the use of esoteric imagery in the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection, which began on August 14.
The group stated in its most recent video that “without a doubt,” both BAYC and Yuga Labs are implicated in knowingly branding their products with esoteric symbolism linked to Nazism as well as other extremist beliefs.
The group wants to shed light on the allegations, calling for more investigation and amnesty while the community grapples with the “hidden in plain sight” trolling Yuga Labs is alleged of.
Yuga Labs filed a lawsuit on June 24 against conceptual artist Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Chen, as well as “Does 1-10.” The accusations involve the false designation of origin, misleading advertising, cybersquatting, and trademark infringement.
Ripps founded RR/BAYC a few weeks before the lawsuit was filed. It has the same artwork as the original BAYC collection. He always has retained that the RR/BAYC collection was about pushing the limits of digital photos as they pertain to IP rights and, more specifically, digital assets and the way these boundaries collide with the nascent non-fungible market system.
Ripps has responded, claiming that the lawsuit is an attempt to squash his claims that BAYC is associated with Nazism.
Thus, Anonymous spent the previous weeks investigating the accusations and stated that they could not be dismissed as a conspiracy theory.
They questioned BAYC founders Greg Solano and Wiley Aronow in a live debate on the notions of esoterism and accelerationism with a representative of their choosing. The group confirmed that it would only take action by bringing attention to the issue rather than engaging in hacktivism.
