John McAfee Is Back From the Dead to Hawk Meme-Coin

John McAfee.
MediaNews Group/The Mercury News / MediaNews Group via Getty Images

Infamous one-time computer anti-virus tycoon John McAfee returned from the dead Wednesday night—in AI form.

Bizarrely, the official X account of the deceased software developer—and fugitive—made a post announcing the launch of a new cryptocurrency and his resurrection as an AI chatbot. The coin and bot are fittingly called “AIntivirus.”

“You didn’t think I would miss this cycle did you?” the post read, linking to a new site where you can interface with McAfee’s new avatar. It also tagged the account of his widow, Janice McAfee.

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While the post cautioned not to ”fall for scam tokens” pretending to be from McAfee, many people on social media assumed that’s exactly what the new endeavor was. Theorists suggested that a hacker could have seized control of the official accounts of both McAfee and his wife.

McAfee’s made a fortune by developing an anti-virus software. / Jose GOITIA Jose Goitia / Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
McAfee’s made a fortune by developing an anti-virus software. / Jose GOITIA Jose Goitia / Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

Meanwhile, an X account created for AIntivirus posted, ostensibly from the dead magnate’s perspective, criticism of those casting doubt on the credibility of the new campaign.

“You think I got hacked?” one post read. “I wrote the damn playbook. Every ‘hack’ you’ve ever heard of is just someone fumbling through tricks I mastered decades ago while chain-smoking on a yacht.”

Clarity came on Thursday, when Janice McAfee posted a video of herself explaining the situation.

McAfee assured people that neither her nor her husband’s accounts had been hacked and said, “My first goal is to only honor John’s legacy and his memory.”

Not everyone was won over, however. Multiple users in the comments below the post called the endeavor a “grift” and a “scam.”

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“So her husbands money ran out and she’s trying to jump on the rug pull meme chain, nice,” wrote one user.

Janice McAfee told Cointelegraph Magazine in Nov. 2023 that she had run out of money and was working odd jobs to make ends meet.

AIntivirus is the latest high-profile cryptocurrency to capitalize on celebrity status. Donald and Melania Trump each launched their own coins, to significant criticism.

Before his death, McAfee had been a cryptocurrency aficionado, launching multiple crypto tokens.

McAfee was known for living out of a yacht for a time. / ADALBERTO ROQUE / AFP via Getty Images
McAfee was known for living out of a yacht for a time. / ADALBERTO ROQUE / AFP via Getty Images

He was also a controversial figure.

He made a fortune by founding the anti-virus software company McAfee in the 1980s, but sold his stake in the company in 1994 and later urged users to remove it from their computers.

His later life was marked by outrageous antics: Failed Libertarian presidential bids, pushing conspiracy theories, living on a yacht as a fugitive.

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He died in a Spanish jail cell in June 2021 while awaiting extradition to the U.S. on tax evasion charges, apparently having ended his own life—although some, including his widow, have suggested he was murdered.

Even after his death, he continued to be embraced as a figure in far-right communities, including the QAnon conspiracy theory.