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Poland's Central Bank Accused of Paying YouTubers To Make Videos That Attack the Legitimacy of Cryptocurrencies (businessinsider.com)

Posted by msmash on from the campaign-gone-wrong dept.

Poland's central bank has been accused of hiring YouTubers to "start a smear campaign" against cryptocurrencies in the country, Business Insider reports. From the story: According to Business Insider Poland, the Narodowy Bank Polski spent around 91,000 zloty ($27,300) on a marketing campaign designed to attack the legitimacy of cryptocurrencies. The money was spent on platforms including Google and Facebook, but was also used to pay a Polish Youtube partner network called Gamellon. The Gamellon network reportedly represents many of Poland's top YouTubers, including popular prankster Marcin Dubiel. In December, Dubiel published a video titled "STRACILEM WSZYSTKIE PIENIADZE?!" -- which loosely translates as "I LOST ALL MY MONEY?!" In the satirical video, Dubiel invests all his money in a fake cryptocurrency called Dubielcoin, gets rich, but then sees its value plunge and loses everything. It has racked up over 500,000 views.

76 comments

  1. #HillaryForPrison treasonous Hillary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    She and Huma worship Satan!

  2. I could have been getting paid?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I could have been getting paid telling people how stupid bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are?! And here I've been doing it for free like a chump.

    1. Re:I could have been getting paid?! by sgrover · · Score: 1

      Maybe that's the plan. Have the naysayers start to silence themselves believing their info is worth more than the cryptocurrency... may be a conspiracy theory in this yet... Or just a law of unintended consequences maybe. (My view is that if you are not ready to loose what you are investing, then don't "invest" in high risk things.)

    2. Re:I could have been getting paid?! by Major_Disorder · · Score: 2

      Come one SlashDot, I need contact info. Who exactly do I need to talk to, to get on this gravytrain?

      --
      First law of people: People are generally stupid.
    3. Re:I could have been getting paid?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I could have been getting paid telling people how stupid bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are?! And here I've been doing it for free like a chump.

      Between getting paid by the Polish government to knock cryptocurrencies and by Soros to post for Hillary, I was able to retire early!

    4. Re:I could have been getting paid?! by darth.hunterix · · Score: 2

      Don't worry, they pay in bitcoins.

      --
      What is best in life? Hot water, good dentishtry and shoft lavatory paper.
    5. Re:I could have been getting paid?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Loose my ASS. Learn the fuck how to spell, please!

    6. Re:I could have been getting paid?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You missed out, between the Koch brothers and NRA, you could have made at least 4x what you did.

    7. Re:I could have been getting paid?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Loose my ASS.

      We believe you.

    8. Re:I could have been getting paid?! by geekymachoman · · Score: 1

      > I could have been getting paid telling people how stupid bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are?! And here I've been doing it for free like a chump.

      and everybody you told that to probably think that you're stupid. And like you said... you didn't even get payed for it.

      You truly are a chump.

  3. Re: #HillaryForPrison treacherous Hillary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    Don't forget abput the teenaged brothers whom she had drugged and placed in front of a traon in the mid 1980s over a coke deal gone horribly awry.

  4. What's the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In the satirical video, Dubiel invests all his money in a fake cryptocurrency called Dubielcoin, gets rich, but then sees its value plunge and loses everything.

    So what's the problem? Speculative investing in an unregulated financial market which bills itself as an unregulated financial market ... this is kind of what it is.

    Cryptocurrencies are the wild west, but that seems to be a design feature, so caveat emptor.

    1. Re:What's the problem? by bobbied · · Score: 2

      (snip)

      Cryptocurrencies are the wild west, but that seems to be a design feature, so caveat emptor.

      One man's propaganda is another's truth... I agree, It pays to be aware of what both sides are saying...

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
  5. Love the Bitcoin ad at the end of the article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    I get an ad for a Bitcoin investment service at the end of the article. Sounds like kind of a huge conflict of interest given the contents of the article.

  6. In Soviet United States by Drunkulus · · Score: 1

    cryptocurrency attacks own legitimacy.

    1. Re:In Soviet United States by bobbied · · Score: 1

      In Soviet Russia, Crypto currency is the definition of legitimate. It's how they make money off you capitalist pigs...

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    2. Re:In Soviet United States by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What the fuck do you know about Soviet Russia? Did you live there? Get this: , ...

    3. Re:In Soviet United States by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lighten up Francis. or should I say Boris?

  7. Cryptocurrencies? Legitimacy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    I think you might be thinking of actual money, backed with real laws.

  8. Frist ps0t by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    subscriBers. Please

  9. But it's true by iamhassi · · Score: 3, Interesting

    They're doing stories about people losing money in bitcoin. That's true, many have lost money, so what's the problem? It's not like they're a news agency that should be unbiased and present both sides of a story, they're a bank smearing.... is bitcoin even a competitor really? This seems more like a cautionary tale than a smear campaign

    --
    my karma will be here long after I'm gone
    1. Re:But it's true by Mr307 · · Score: 3, Funny

      You just need the faith that completely unregulated gambling is going to work out great for 'everyone'.

      Stop being an unbeliever.

    2. Re:But it's true by war4peace · · Score: 4, Insightful

      There are aspects that make or break this thing.

      You're saying "hey, it's true, what's the fuss?" - well, Poland is in the EU, and the EU has strict regulations around paid advertising.
      Any advertising that's paid for MUST explicitly be identified as such.

      For example, I could, as a Youtuber, make a video exactly like the one discussed in TFS and not be paid by anyone. I could express my own opinion, using my own resources (time, money) and monetize the content, earn money out of it, form opinions in my followers, etc. That's fine.
      Similarly, I, the Youtuber, could be paid by a bank to make a similar video, and it's also fine as long as I explicitly mention in my video that it's advertising paid for by the bank, with the bank's name and everything.

      I am not allowed to make a video, be paid by the bank, and not mention that anywhere.

      Not sure which was the case because TFS is paywalled and I am not turning my adblocker off for that site.

      --
      ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
    3. Re:But it's true by Luthair · · Score: 1

      They are a central bank, not a bank..

    4. Re:But it's true by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      It's just the modern era where telling the truth is a smear but then again not that modern. Take your typical monarch from the past. The only story they wanted told about the past, was ones that made them look good, tell the truth and you would earn yourself a thorough hanging, drawing and quartering https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.... An idle thought, it always strikes me as funny when archaeologists report things carved into walls et al as factual when the reality is, you could only carve et al what the monarch approved and anything else would be removed along with the individual that carved et al it.

      So the central bank is attempting to mitigate the losses of the citizens of a country by warning them of the dangers, especially when the dangers most often result of wealth being taken from the country to other more corrupt countries and that is somehow evil (well according to the fraudsters it is, un-backed crypto currencies are doomed, used up marketing is not an asset).

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    5. Re:But it's true by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Except that NOBODY is advertising anything in this case.

    6. Re:But it's true by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So the central bank is attempting to mitigate the losses of the citizens of a country by warning them of the dangers, especially when the dangers most often result of wealth being taken from the country to other more corrupt countries and that is somehow evil (well according to the fraudsters it is, un-backed crypto currencies are doomed, used up marketing is not an asset).

      +5 doubleplusgood

      Now get back to work drone, and put your money right back where we can track it.

    7. Re:But it's true by war4peace · · Score: 1

      Sure they are.
      If I pay you to convey $information to your readers / followers / crowd, it's advertising.

      --
      ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
  10. NBP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's NBP, not NFB.

  11. Actually... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    "I lost all my money" sounds like a legitimate criticism of cryptocurrency. Do any of those people even know the first rule of investing?

    1. Re:Actually... by MoaDweeb · · Score: 1

      Gambling is not Investing.

      --
      New Zealanders are well balanced with a chip on each shoulder. One represents Australia, the other the rest of the world
  12. Re: #HillaryForPrison treacherous Hillary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    That list is like 50 people and growing. Careful how much you say, anon.

  13. Moscow Donald - Treason, Obstruction of Justice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    Another of the co-conspirators in Moscow Donald's treasonous collusion with Russia's attack on America plead guilty yesterday.

    Donald Trump will die in prison as I die laughing at his uneducated racist supporters.

    1. Re:Moscow Donald - Treason, Obstruction of Justice by sycodon · · Score: 1

      ^Speaking of paid trolls

      --
      When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
    2. Re:Moscow Donald - Treason, Obstruction of Justice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yep, I'm just a Russian operative blowing the cover of the Russian agent in the oval office for no apparent reason.

      Figured it's better that he be impeached than to have Trump doing Russia's bidding for the next few years.

      Or, as you republican traitors turned your backs on America for Moscow Donald you've forgotten that patriotic Americans don't take kindly to treason.

  14. Re: #HillaryForPrison treacherous Hillary by nwaack · · Score: 0

    Don't forget abput the teenaged brothers whom she had drugged and placed in front of a traon in the mid 1980s...

    Now she's putting people in front of TRAONS! No, not the traons! Anything but the traons!!!!

  15. This is common pattern in Poland and elsewhere by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    In Poland you have right-wing nationalist government who won elections thanks to such massive campaigns.

    They have 20% support but have majority in the parliament thanks to smearing everyone else with lies and fake news and populistic promises.

    Similar things are tried in many other countries - often campaigns are directly controlled from Kremlin.

    1. Re:This is common pattern in Poland and elsewhere by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In Poland you have right-wing nationalist government who won elections thanks to such massive campaigns.

      They have 20% support but have majority in the parliament thanks to smearing everyone else with lies and fake news and populistic promises.

      Similar things are tried in many other countries - often campaigns are directly controlled from Kremlin.

      yeah.... ok

    2. Re:This is common pattern in Poland and elsewhere by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In Poland you have right-wing nationalist government who won elections thanks to such massive campaigns.

      They have 20% support but have majority in the parliament thanks to smearing everyone else with lies and fake news and populistic promises.

      Similar things are tried in many other countries - often campaigns are directly controlled from Kremlin.

      Actually, most of this is being run by the nigerians.

    3. Re:This is common pattern in Poland and elsewhere by darth.hunterix · · Score: 0, Troll

      Actually they won because previous government was massively incompetent and controlled directly by Berlin, so a lot of people were just "anything but not those idiots again".

      And they have a lot more than 20%, it's the first time since 1989 when ruling party has majority of seats in the parliament. It's a bit of Trump effect - people who vote for them tend not to admit it. Pretty much for the same reasons.

      Aside from that, you're right.

      --
      What is best in life? Hot water, good dentishtry and shoft lavatory paper.
    4. Re:This is common pattern in Poland and elsewhere by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      NO. In Poland a patriotic non sell out government won. Polish people are traditional and for the most part we remember our history and our Russian and German friends - people like Bismarck and the tsars and Lenin etc. People voted for a government that would stand up for Polish interest and got something closer to that than the SLD (ex Communist party) or PO (Pro German) governments.

    5. Re:This is common pattern in Poland and elsewhere by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In Poland you have right-wing nationalist government who won elections thanks to such massive campaigns.

      They have 20% support but have majority in the parliament thanks to smearing everyone else with lies and fake news and populistic promises.

      Similar things are tried in many other countries - often campaigns are directly controlled from Kremlin.

      That's utter and complete BS, but at least it shows what kind of propaganda you're being fed by your mainstream media in the west. The current Polish governement's brand of "nationalism" is based mostly (if not only) on anti-Russia resentments, has often been accused by our politically correct mainstream party of being irrationally anti-Russian (with slogans like "they want to lead a saber-charge on Moscow" "will end up starting war", etc...), they have staunchly supported any anti-Russian sanctions within the EU, opposed the NordStream project and basically opposed everything at all that has to do with Russia. Oh and they also accuse Russia of basically assasinating the Polish president (coming from their party, and the twin brother of the party's leader) in 2010. So yeah, totally supported by Kremlin they must be.

      But of course the current politically correct "liberal" propaganda in the West is that whenever your anointed mainstream PC fascists loose "it must be Kremlin". Yeah, right.

    6. Re:This is common pattern in Poland and elsewhere by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Controlled from the Kremlin, that's funny. I highly recommend you spend oh, about two seconds reading up on the history of Poland and Russia. You might be surprised to find that the Poles have a wee bit of bad blood with the Russians, and even the slightest hint of association with them would probably ruin a campaign.

    7. Re:This is common pattern in Poland and elsewhere by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Didn't you get the memo? For liberals in US it's since Trump, for liberals in Europe it's since Le Pen got *this* close to winning election against the mainstream candidate, but since then, for liberals the Russians are responsible for everything, from the mainstream camp's pets loosing their elections, to droughts, locusts and sunspots. Facts be damned.

  16. PSA by ugen · · Score: 0

    Sounds more like a "public service announcement" for the Youtube generation. Good on them for warning people.

    1. Re:PSA by Luthair · · Score: 1

      Yup, there have been enough bitcoin supporters writing "viral" puff pieces (no small number submitted to Slashdot) over the last 8-years without disclosing their conflict of interest.

  17. Sounds like a public service announcement by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    It really sounds like the Central Bank is doing their job and attempting to educate the public about the dangers of speculative investing, in a rather creative way. In times past, there would have just been a television advertisement buy or something.

    I don't see the problem here at all, especially for a fairly reasonable fee.

  18. What legitimacy? by fedos · · Score: 0

    Hard to attack the legitimacy of something doesn't have any.

  19. Re: #HillaryForPrison treacherous Hillary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    C'mon man, don't be a dick, he clearly meant one of those light cycles from Tron.

  20. "Was Accused" by fedos · · Score: 1

    ...Poland's central bank was accused of hiring YouTubers...

    Since the accusation came from Business Insider, this is like when Fox News says "people are saying".

    1. Re:"Was Accused" by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 1

      This is like when the New York Times lied about the Tesla car. "When the facts didn't suit his opinion, he simply changed the facts," Musk wrote. A Times spokeswoman reiterated that its story was "fair and accurate."

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
  21. They should have hired the Russians by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    90 Russians and their paltry Facebook ad buy decided the election. I highly recommend that they be hired for any project. They are the most amazing marketers ever. They beat Hillary's $1.2 billion juggernaut with just $100k! It was like sinking a battleship with a hand grenade.

    When even the New Yorker is ridiculing the idea that there is some great Russia conspiracy, you know it's all over but the crying: https://www.newyorker.com/news...

    --
    Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
    1. Re:They should have hired the Russians by AHuxley · · Score: 1

      Think of the quality 13 Russian media experts could bring to the video clips.
      Educate Poland about the wonders of the emerging gig economy and make Poland trust its own government.
      Central banking saves the nation from crypto currency speculation.
      Think of the production values Russian have in understanding the local Polish culture.
      The central bank in solidarity with Polish workers protecting their savings from risky crypto currency fluctuations.
      "I'm from the central bank and I'm here to help"

      --
      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
  22. Re: Moscow Donald - Treason, Obstruction of Justic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Clintons had hundreds of millions to spend on this guy while Bill went down there to rape the very girls he was supposed to provide aid to. Hopefully the Lolita Express provided some AIDS back.

  23. Their check cleared, didn't it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Their check cleared, didn't it?

  24. Good! by slashdotiscompromisd · · Score: 1

    People who are so easily influenced by authority do not deserve the first crack at freedom.
    I sure hope this experiment pays off those with courage and gives our suffocating society a breath of fresh air.

    --
    My karma was manually wiped by site staff https://slashdot.org/~slshdtisctrldbysjws 18 mod up, 10 mod down = bad karma
  25. LIES by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    > often campaigns are directly controlled from Kremlin

    baseless rumors and lies

    1. Re:LIES by easyTree · · Score: 2

      > often campaigns are directly controlled from Kremlin

      baseless rumors and lies

      Yeap; pretty sure that's what GP is saying, the baseless rumours and lies are directly controlled by Kremlin.

      --
      Requiem for the American Dream
  26. Re: #HillaryForPrison treacherous Hillary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Bill Clinton ONLY got into cocaine when he found that you could make anal rape easier by blowing it up da bunghoal.

  27. I wouldn't expect anything less. ;-) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Having lived and grown up in Poland for over 20 years, I can tell you all right away that what the central bank has done is very much in the spirit of how the curious country of Poland deals with politically and economically inconvenient matters. With deception, misinformation and treachery. I believe this state of things to be some sort of a post-communist legacy which remained within the Polish nation until the present day.

  28. So? by Bruce66423 · · Score: 1

    The central bank should still be subject to the same regulations.

    1. Re:So? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, same goes for sperm banks...and seed banks. They should all have the same regulations no matter how dissimilar they are.

    2. Re:So? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But unlike a normal bank they're not spending their own money to do that, they're spending MY taxpayer's money. And I object to it being spent on smears, lies and mainstream propaganda. Yeah, yeah bitcon bad, banks in collusion with govt good, now put your money back right where we can track it, drone, and stop questioning the man or it's off to room 101 with you.

    3. Re:So? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not smears or lies though. I kind of look at it as a PSA. Nothing they said is untrue nor even particularly misleading.

    4. Re:So? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is lies. Saying "it's a high-risk, high-payoff-if-you-get-lucky investment" is true. Saying "you are definitely going to loose all your money if you go into Bitcoins" is a lie. And the latter is the message they were spreading.

  29. -o- by easyTree · · Score: 1

    According to Business Insider Poland, the Narodowy Bank Polski spent around 91,000 zloty ($27,300) on a marketing campaign designed to attack the legitimacy of cryptocurrencies.

    Um, what's that, like $27,300 / $10,386 = 2.6... BTC.

    --
    Requiem for the American Dream
    1. Re:-o- by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They probably by mistake sent 2.5 Bcoins to some YouTuber when testing their digital wallets....

  30. Public Service Annoucement by DogDude · · Score: 1

    What they did was a PSA. It was a good thing. Governments should provide citizens with information that helps prevent them from getting ripped off. If the US were run by sane people, we'd do the same right now.

    --
    I don't respond to AC's.
    1. Re:Public Service Annoucement by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're right. Current Polish majority party won election by pounding on scandals of previous administration. Two of those financial scandals, both very medial, were direct result of lack of control over financial markets by regulatory authorities (and general lack of financial education among citizens).

      Smaller, but more medial case was “Amber Gold” fiasco, where few thousand people sinked their savings into a financial institution posing as a bank.

      Bigger case was related to poorly understood financial instrument called "Insurance Saving Plan". Banks used to sell it disguised as normal saving plan, glossing over very high fees and commissions.

      Historically speaking there was also a case of Swiss Frank denominated mortgages (you can think of it, as a Polish branch of subprime mortgage crisis). Between 2003 and 2008 a lot of people signed mortgages denominated in Swiss Frank as they were cheaper than mortgages in local currency. Banks were eager to cash in hidden cost of spread rates for those credits. In 2009 CHF became a lot stronger relative to Polish Zloty, and situation became desperate for those who lacked knowledge to include currency fluctuations into their calculations.

  31. See what you did there by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    by pointing finger, using right words to blame for some kind of wrongdoing, the author actually implies the cryptocurrencies are now legitimate. all hail to evilcoin.

  32. Accused? by greencfg · · Score: 0

    The Central bank of Poland was "accused" of doing the good deed of warning people about fishy investments? Really, that's how accusations go nowadays? What's with this trend of biased headlines that suggest how we should think about the news, rather than just present the news? Postmodern journalism?

  33. How... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ....is this any different than big bitcoin holders posting stories all over the internet that get picked up by facebook users, etc, touting how awesome it is?

  34. All cryptocurrencies are scam by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If so-called cryptocurrencies are really good innovation, why they attract so many criminals/criminal activity?
    Could it really be because, all cryptocurrencies themselves are scams, and that is why they attract all kinds of criminals/criminal activity?

    If so-called cryptocurrencies are really currency, why no company/store can use Bitcoin as currency anymore?
    Because the price of Bitcoin proved to be extremely unstable to use as a currency?
    Would the result be different, if Bitcoin replaced by any other "cryptocurrency"?
    Aren't all work the same way?

    Or, they are not actually virtual currency but virtual investment?
    But, if they are actually investment, why we need/want them?
    What would happen to world economy, if people invested in virtual investments, instead of real investments?

    Or, all so-called cryptocurrencies are actually just a modified (made decentralized and paying variable interest) Ponzi Schemes?
    (Price of cryptocurrencies would keep increasing in the long term (by their design), so it is equivalent of paying variable interest to all long term investors.)

    As more and more people invest in cryptocurrencies, it will become harder and harder to ban their trading everywhere!
    All cryptocurrencies need to be banned globally before it is too late!

  35. Poland's gone rogue by RonVNX · · Score: 1

    This is among the least bad things the Polish government's done lately.

  36. they should pay youtubers to warn about mob govern by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    polish government is gang of mobsters

  37. OK Everybody ! Time to Hate On Poland !! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    signed,
      The EUCrats and George Soros....