Original | Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)
Author | Fu Ruo (@vincent31515173)
pump.fun has rapidly risen to prominence in this bull market thanks to meme coin trading, becoming a focal point in the industry; the platform's cumulative revenue has approached $230 million, with daily earnings even surpassing those of leading Layer 1 networks like Solana and Ethereum.
Beneath the glory, dark currents surge. After the live broadcast function was launched, within less than half a year, this platform originally aimed at creating wealth dreams was gradually eroded by greed and extreme behavior. From harming animals to pornographic broadcasts, to threats of violent crime, users, in their quest for attention and token value, even resorted to life-threatening acts, frequently crossing moral and legal boundaries, showcasing the ugliness of human nature, and leading this decentralized experiment gradually towards losing control.
Such chaos has triggered dissatisfaction within the community, with many blaming that this type of live broadcast will ruin pump.fun and even the meme wave. In response, pump.fun announced the suspension of the live broadcast function and implemented multiple measures, but can it truly quell the community's anger?
Tragedy and absurdity coexist, a review of the events behind the out-of-control live broadcast
When the live broadcast function was launched six months ago, pump.fun hoped to stimulate interaction between creators and audiences through this form, enhancing platform activity. However, this function quickly evolved into a stage for showcasing the darker sides of human nature, intertwining absurdity and tragedy, becoming a nightmare for the community.
The trigger for this round of events came from a token issuer stating in a live broadcast that if the market value of his token did not meet expectations, he would commit suicide by hanging. Subsequently, the issuer staged a suicide scene on the live broadcast platform, with the token LUKE briefly soaring nearly 400 times. However, later community users revealed that the issuer had faked the suicide and had been rescued by team members.
Beau, the security manager of Pudgy Penguins, stated, "Such behavior is not only irresponsible to individual lives but also seriously undermines the atmosphere of the entire community. This desperate cry for help is clearly not the original intention of decentralized freedom. The live broadcast should be shut down."
Moreover, some violent acts in the live broadcasts are even more chilling than self-harm threats.
For example, some users in the live broadcast stated that every time the token price rises, they shoot outside the window to gain viewer donations and clicks. The sound of gunfire echoed in the live broadcast room, yet viewers saw it as an entertainment extravaganza. Even more unsettling is that a child during a live broadcast threatened that if the token did not meet expectations, he would harm his family and even threatened to commit violence at school.
All these behaviors are taking place on pump.fun, where some users in the comments section even egg on these actions, with every click pushing extreme behavior further to a climax. These events have transformed pump.fun from an innovative decentralized platform into a breeding ground for violent performances.
Inappropriate behavior in the live broadcast room does not stop there. Some users exploit the platform's loose review mechanism to conduct pornographic live broadcasts, even using animal abuse to attract attention.
Faced with the loss of control over live broadcast content, community members' anger erupted, openly expressing their disgust towards pump.fun's live broadcast function. Many community members condemned: "The existence of such content not only shocks viewers but may also spread the effects of violence, pornography, and abusive behavior into real life. pump.fun must be held accountable for this chaos."
In response to the community's strong condemnation and the crisis of uncontrolled content, pump.fun quickly took action.
Suspend live broadcast function: Amidst numerous criticisms, pump.fun announced the suspension of the live broadcast function until its review infrastructure can cope with the platform's high activity levels. The indefinite suspension statement is a reassurance to the community and an urgent measure to restore internal order on the platform.
Strengthen review mechanisms: pump.fun stated that there is now an around-the-clock moderator and engineering team responsible for reviewing images, videos, live broadcasts, and comments. Hundreds of violating streams are shut down daily, with images, names, descriptions, and comments of violative content being quickly removed. The platform promises to further optimize the review mechanism to create a safer and more respectful environment for the community.
Enhance transparency: Transparency is the community's core demand from pump.fun. The platform promises to introduce clearer community rules, providing users with greater visibility into the review process, allowing every user to clearly understand how violative content is handled and the outcomes. Through a transparent process, pump.fun hopes to regain the community's trust lost due to this incident.
Future commitments: pump.fun stated that it will strengthen technological upgrades and rule optimization to maintain the healthy development of the community and prevent similar incidents from happening again.
Although the pump.fun team quickly launched a series of measures, some community users are not "buying it," turning to meme token issuance platforms like Base to express their dissatisfaction.
The balance between technological freedom and moral constraints
Content review on decentralized platforms has always been a challenge in the crypto industry; excessive review is considered centralization, while loose review easily becomes a breeding ground for crime. How to balance this scale has become a pressing issue.
This pump.fun live broadcast storm also reminds us that the pace of technological innovation cannot be divorced from considerations of humanity and ethics. Whether pump.fun can find a balance between freedom and rules in the future is not only crucial for the platform's survival but will also provide important experiences and insights for the entire decentralized industry.
The future of decentralization is full of hope, but the road ahead is bound to be bumpy. This is a lesson, and also a growth opportunity.