GameStop Takes Down NFT Based on the 9/11 Photo 'The Falling Man'

GameStop's NFT marketplace has only been available for a little over two weeks and is already making headlines.

The 'Falling Man' During the 9/11 Attack

Richard Drew, a photojournalist for the Associated Press, took a number of pictures on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, including "The Falling Man."

It is thought that at least 100 people died when they fell from the towers that day, contributing to the 2,753 fatalities that occurred inside the World Trade Center and nearby, as per the report by Engadget.

The 'Falling Man' NFT

GameStop, a retailer of video games, announced in February that it will launch an NFT market. The GameStop NFT marketplace, which is now in beta, enables users to buy and sell NFTs produced by a pre-approved group of creators.

One of the creators, Jules, designed and started selling an NFT called "Falling Man" that included a figure that resembled the famous Associated Press image. The NFT version, however, wore an astronaut-inspired outfit, according to PC Gamer.

The NFT's description, which makes reference to Russia's decommissioned space station, reads, "This one probably fell from the MIR station." The artist of the piece is offering two versions of "Falling Man," with the least expensive one listed at 0.65 Ethereum, or roughly $990.

Before listing their tokens for sale, artists must submit an application and successfully complete a screening process. The company kept 2.25% of revenues as its cut.

Plagiarism in NFT Market

Engadget pointed out that in the NFT market, artistic theft is a serious problem. Fake and copied content is common on sites like OpenSea where tokens can be created for free.

However, one may argue that artists should be able to reference earlier works and tragedies.

GameStop Removed the Controversial NFT

GameStop removed the image when the NFT came under fire on websites like Web3 is going just great and the Resetera forum. Although the original can still be found on the Wayback Machine, clicking the link now leads to a blank page.

There were 25 editions of the NFT, and some people had already purchased them. You might ask what will happen to the sold NFTs?

PC Gamer reports that the GameStopNFT Twitter account gave one of these customers an explanation for the decision, stating, "Certain collections violated our terms of service, which resulted in the NFTs being suspended from our marketplace." GameStopNFT Twitter then added: "You will still be able to transfer these NFTs to layer 1 and between wallets, but they cannot be sold on our marketplace."

The NFT will reportedly no longer be available to purchase, according to someone who complained about the image via a direct message. GameStop said it has already spoken with the creator about the NFT and have already disabled the user's minting ability from their account.