Williams’ plan focuses on using blockchain technology to counter propaganda and incentivize the Russian population to learn more about what’s going on in Ukraine through crypto awards.
Dominic Williams, the founder of Internet Computer (ICP) and DFINITY, has devised an unusual scheme to hasten the conclusion of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by using smart contracts and $250 million in cryptocurrency prices.
DFINITY’s Internet Computer is a public blockchain and protocol that aims to decentralize the internet. It was introduced in May 2021.
Williams’ March 16 proposal focuses on countering propaganda and informing the Russian population — which he claims is “completely ignorant” of what is going on in Ukraine — about the reality of the situation, which will then motivate them to put pressure on the government to end the conflict.
“We should not expect sanctions alone to turn the Russian people against their leaders,” Williams wrote, “for the simple reason that they control their media, which dutifully pours out carefully-crafted propaganda and misleading information.”
According to the concept, blockchain technology and smart contracts may be used to bring together huge groups of verified Russian residents to watch “informative media” about the conflict in virtual reality gatherings known as “people parties”:
“Each attendee who proves personhood using the people party system is then identified to smart contracts as an individual human being. The system prevents cheating, such that on each run, a person is only able to attend exactly once.”
“In this concept,” the post said, “smart contracts would create a new crypto account for each successful attendee, which they could access and control via an Internet Identity.”
Williams recommends that crypto incentives in assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) be used to incentivize citizens. Because PINs attached to their accounts will not be unlocked until all of the content is consumed, each Russian citizen would be obliged to watch until the end of the video/s.
“The live-streamed video will reveal the truth about the conflict in Ukraine and urge Russians to put pressure on their government to end the fighting.” It should be up to talented filmmakers to figure out how to make such a video. “A non-watermarked version of the video should be made accessible for download so that the receiver can show it to others,” Williams stated.
Willaims’ $250 million figure is based on his suggestion that each participant is paid $50 for each film watched, to entice 5 million Russians to watch the educational movies.
The plan is contingent on several factors, the most essential of which being that the internet remains operational without intervention from the Russian government to carry out such a massive undertaking. Officials in Moscow are considering unplugging the country from online, according to Twitter responses.
Other Twitter users, such as “Omega.ic3,” who criticized the move as a PR gimmick, weren’t happy with the idea:
“There is no way this idea would have any real chance to impact public opinion in Russia. Therefore it looks like a cheap PR shot, ultimately trying to profit off the situation by jumping on the bandwagon of popular opinion and increase visibility.”
