YouTuber Arho Sunny apologises for NFT promotion strategy flak

YouTube influencer Arho Sunny, who has over 520,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, has apologised for not explaining the risks of NFT to his younger audiences. The video apology, published late last night, came after netizens voiced their unhappiness over the unveiling of his new NFT campaign “Yat Sun Metaverse”, which also features his unique digital art on 24 May 2022.

In the introductory video of his campaign published on 24 May 2022, Sunny, with his partner Creamy, urged audiences to search on NFTs online if they want to know more about it. This angered netizens who believed that the information should have come from the video itself rather than urging netizens to look it up themselves. The video created last week also showcased Sunny’s unique Japanese-style digital art and Sunny further explained in the video that the inspiration of creating his own NFT came from his digital art drawings.

In the video, the duo also addressed accusations of them being scammers, saying that it is “very immature” for people to comment so when they have “no idea what NFT is” and how much it is being sold for. Creamy also said audiences should forgo buying NFTs if they can’t afford it, further adding “maybe save more money before you could support us.”

Sunny also explained he started drawing digital art since he was 17 and stressed that his NFT campaign was not created to make huge profits, but instead it was designated to promote local art creation. He also said that his video creation is totally separate from the NFT project.

The release of the video triggered heated discussions on various social platforms and forums, with many condemning the influencer of not explaining the risks of buying NFT to his young audiences, especially students who haven’t familiarised themselves with the idea of financial management. This promoted the YouTuber to upload a video on 29 May 2022, apologising for not giving a heads up to non-adult audience on the risks of getting NFTs. According to data from Meltwater, the sentiments were largely negative.

He also promised to set up a warning tags suggesting only adults could exchange virtual currency, and said “we do not encourage children to buy NFTs as there are existing risks”. The couple also reassured audiences that they would stay in Hong Kong for their innovative career over the accusations of them making profits for their immigration plans.

After the apology statement was released, some lauded their move in admitting their faults while others remained upset at his marketing strategy to promote NFT campaigns saying "it is not acceptable to advertise without telling youngsters the risks of buying NFT." 

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