I'm taking you to the scene outside the Manhattan courthouse, which is VERY "something's off" because P. Diddy isn't the only one who is facing federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges. What began as a purported public show of support for the music mogul might be a cleverly hidden PR campaign and perhaps a splash of crypto chaos.
Dozens of people gathered outside the courthouse this week, wearing T-shirts that read "Free Diddy" and "Free Puff." At first blush, it seemed like an impromptu groundswell of support. But scratch the surface, the protest looks less like a grassroots uprising and more like a gig.
As writer Emilie Hagen Yes, girl, we see you pointed out, a woman in a now-viral Instagram video claimed she was paid $20 to wear the shirt. Another claimed they'd been paid $60 to stand there for three hours. And if you are thinking, "Huh... that's a pretty well-compensated protest," you are not alone.
Observers began to notice who was hired for the jobs: mainly unhoused people and others struggling. If it is, this is not simply a pathetic effort at viral marketing exploiting and purchasing a protest to manufacture the illusion of public support. Now, that's some next-level manipulation.
This was about backing Diddy, and the entire spectacle was also a marketing stunt for Hold Your Nosure. For this one, a meme cryptocurrency called $DIDDY was used. The coin was launched earlier this month by Diddy's sons, Justin and King Combs, and is trying to ride the wave of meme fixation right into the wallets of crypto speculators.
They even offered a $5,000 reward for the best Diddy meme. That part, to be honest, is brilliant meme culture meets digital hustle. And hey, it worked. None of us had heard of $DIDDY before this circus. Now, it dominates social media feeds. You hate or love it, but it's got people talking. Even if the bulk of that talk is: "Wait, what the hell is going on?"
And, as if crypto wasn't perplexing enough, someone murmured that the coin was "sniped" by a "wallet." That sounds…bad. I don't fluently speak blockchain, but perhaps someone in the comments can explain how this little digital ambush might not have helped the coin's launch. So far as I can tell, it's not good.
So, was this a protest or just a promo? Is it a movement or a marketing gimmick? Maybe it's both, and Perhaps it's neither. Whatever the truth, Diddy's legal situation is heavy enough that someone has started a coin and is paying people for T-shirt time to keep his name in the algorithm.
0 Comments