Guns N ‘ Roses guitar Slash has entirely abandoned X ( previously known as Twitter ) on Tuesday, citing “repeated tricks” that used his account to advertise a joke gold.
The decision came just a year after thieves compromised his verified accounts to promote a Solana-based image gold called GUNS, erroneously positioning it as an established Guns N ‘ Roses crypto job.
” This was a considered choice after repeated tricks, and it reflects a change in how I’d like to be connected moving ahead”, Slash told supporters in what could, at least for now, been his last message.
It remains unclear why Slash claimed the tricks were “repeated” or if the text was directed especially at the April 2 hackers event.
Towards the close of his farewell message, the rock star directed fans to follow him on other popular social media platforms, prompting some fans to indicate he consider Bluesky, a fragmented option.
Pleasant to the Jungle
The guitarist’s account was hacked just a few days after April Fool’s, posting some special information about the fraudulent Guns N ‘ Roses image gold.
” In 2 hours, we’re launching a meme coin on SOLANA. Stay tuned..”. the hackers posted, pinning a post claiming they will “invest$ 1M in$ GUNS in the next hour” to generate artificial excitement.
Those posts have since been deleted, though the token remains live on PumpFun, albeit with just some$ 3, 300 in value left.
YouAin’t the First
This isn’t the first time that meme coin hackers have targeted a hard rock band, in June last year, American heavy metal band Metallica saw its Twitter account hacked to promote METAL, another Solana meme coin.
The hackers used the band’s brand colors and falsely claimed partnerships with Ticketmaster. The token reached a market cap of at least$ 10 million before crashing within hours.
The hacks represent a broader pattern targeting musicians and celebrities on the platform for clout, coin, or otherwise.
Anything Goes
The hack contrasts with Guns N’ Roses ‘ legitimate efforts to use emerging technologies.
In February last year, the band made headlines for their innovative use of AI in the music video for” The General”, with design agency Creative Works London using Stable Diffusion to create dreamlike visuals over Unreal Engine renders.
The music video featured a young boy strolling across a trippy, magenta-tinted cyberpunk cityscape, with live footage of the band morphing into alien characters.
The AI-enhanced video included subtle Easter eggs with” G”,” N”,” R”, and” A. I”. elements rather than an unintentional exploitation of the band’s brand.
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