Disaster Girl Meme Photos For Sale In NFT Form, Sell For IDR 6.8 Billion

Meme Disaster Girl photo sold in NFT format (Photo taken by David Roth)

JAKARTA - The “Disaster Girl” photo meme that was popular in 2005 is reported to have sold for $ 473,000 or equivalent to IDR 6.8 billion. In the photo, a girl is smiling against the background of a burning place.

The girl's name is Zoë Roth. The meme photos are sold in the form of an NFT, which is part of crypto technology. NFTs have functions such as digital certificates that prove the ownership of NFT assets in the form of photos, songs, videos, paintings, and so on. The more original work is, the higher the price.

The image of the popular meme was bought for 180 ethereum by a collector under the account name @3FMusic. The asset is auctioned on the Foundation App. Roth will receive a 10-cent fee if the meme image of herself is circulated online.

At first, the photo was taken without any purpose. When Roth was 4 years old, she was taken away by her father, Dave Roth, to see a burning building in the Mebane area, North Carolina, United States.

Based on a report from the New York Times, at that time firefighters allowed children to hold water hoses because the fire was under control. Roth's father himself is an amateur photographer, he often carries a camera around to take pictures of his daughter.

Not long ago, Dave uploaded the photo to cyberspace. Since then the photo of “Disaster Girl” has gone viral. In 2008, the photo was awarded. Many also replace the background of the photo with accidents and disasters. Knowing this, Roth didn't mind.

"You just want to make it the way you want it. I like to see (edits) them because I never made it for myself, but I love to see how creative people are", said Roth as quoted by the New York Times.

Currently, Zoë Roth, the little girl in the photo is already 21 years old. From the sales proceeds from the meme photo in the form of NFT, she plans to pay for her schooling. Roth will also do charity work, as compiled from the BBC on Monday, May 3.

“People who are in a meme and go viral is one thing, but how the internet keeps my photos viral, is relevant, is madness. I am very grateful for all these experiences”, said the girl in the “Disaster Girl” meme.

Before the auction of the NFT photo meme asset, there was already a GIF “Nyan Cat” which was once popular in cyberspace. "Nyan Cat" itself has sold for $ 500,000 US dollars or the equivalent of IDR 7.2 billion.

In addition, Twitter owner Jack Dorsey auctioned his first tweet in the form of an NFT and sold it for $ 2.5 million or the equivalent of IDR 36 billion. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, Denny JA has succeeded in selling his first tweet in the form of an NFT for IDR 100 million.