You know the meme: "There is no ethical consumption under capitalism." It's almost tiring at this point. We are all perfectly aware that it's very hard to spend even a dollar without unwittingly supporting child labour, exploitation, and environmental abuse. It seems like whatever trail you follow, they all lead to a handful of companies that only grow richer and stronger as the world burns. Billionaires and politicians alike have turned a profit amid a pandemic that has killed over a million people worldwide and financially devastated millions. And yet, it always strikes us as news.
The Anti Advertising Advertising Club is paying TikTokers as much as $20,000 (£15,000) to post videos talking down and criticising companies like Amazon, Facebook, Tesla, and Palantir. According to Business Insider, the group MSCHF will pay anyone that meets the requirements $10 (£8) to accuse TikTok of "content suppression" and up to $20,000 (£15,000) for attacking companies that have contracts with America's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The project's website prominently displays the gist: "Kill Brands, Get Paid" and explains that MSCHF (pronounced like mischief) is "sponsoring takedowns of nine evil brands and we'll pay anyone who joins the fight." The website also has audio tracks for each brand, pop songs with revised lyrics that detail ways the brands are "evil." For Fashion Nova, Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" was rewritten as: We didn't pay designers. We just stole the dresses and took all the credit.
The Anti Ad Ad Club is MSCHF's 31st drop. The "drops" system references both hypebeast culture and QAnon drops. MSCHF is a New York-based art collective, behind a number of viral products and cryptic artworks. Drop 30 was a call for "Medical Bill art" where people turned their medical bills into art for MSCHF to sell to collectors in order for the bills to be paid off. MSCHF is paying based on the number of views your video gets and you have about a week and four days before the collective moves on to drop 32.