UNFK Aims to Bring Accountability to Corporate Corruption, One Prank at a Time
In Partnership With
Share
-
-
COPIED
Move over Merry Pranksters. A new web3 project believes humor is the quickest path to social impact.
Gunnar Lovelace, the entrepreneur behind Thrive Markets, has launched an irreverent campaign known as UNFK (pronounced “un-fuck”) to take on major corporations and out-of-touch government officials through humor and performance art.
“We’ve been thrown out of banks and sometimes arrested for our stunts, but it’s all part of creating the magic of using pranks and art to challenge the corrupt status quo,” Lovelace explains.
At the recent Consensus 2024 conference in Austin, Texas, UNFK caused a stir by hiring impersonators of JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon to engage in provocative stunts, symbolizing hyperbolic repentance for corporate misdeeds.
Building on the memetic momentum, UNFK is set to host its first community prank, “Give Gensler The Finger,” in partnership with notable digital art collector Cozomo de’ Medici. Boasting participation from leading web3 communities like Pudgy Penguins and Pixelmon, the meme contest offers participants the chance to win $10,000 in SOL by creating memes giving SEC chairman Gary Gensler the finger.
All of the action is taking place on UNFK’s recently-launched web-app, which was built on the Solana blockchain and designed to gamify social activism by encouraging users to engage in comical pranks to support social causes. By bridging URL and IRL to foster a sense of community and collective action against corruption and harmful practices, the platform aims to inspire widespread participation and raise awareness around accountability.
“We have lots of mischief, and a really fun video game called Flying Finger is coming soon, where players earn points towards airdrops by giving corrupt bankers and Gensler the finger,” says Lovelace.
nft now caught up with Lovelace for a candid interview to learn more about the UNFK project and its devilish plans for further disruption.
nft now: What is the origin story of UNFK?
Gunnar Lovelace: At midnight on New Year’s, my computer was hacked with messages from UNFK via the Oracle, which was broadcasting from the future. The Oracle informed me and a small group of new recruits that we had a limited window to seed UNFK into popular culture during the 2020s, a critical decade to influence humanity’s trajectory. Failure could result in a future ruled by corrupt mega-corporations, reminiscent of “Mad Max” and “Blade Runner.”
As a lifelong prankster, this mission to activate UNFK by combining crypto, pranks, and digital art, powered by airdrops and meme culture, naturally became my new calling. UNFK encapsulated all my hopes and fears, reflecting my passion for crypto and its deeply anti-establishment ethos. We are excited to bring UNFK to life through its web-app and platform. Here is a unique, invite-only code for nft now community members.
“As a lifelong prankster, this mission to activate UNFK by combining crypto, pranks, and digital art, powered by airdrops and meme culture, naturally became my new calling.”
GUNNAR LOVELACE
My readiness for this futuristic transmission stemmed from my past. I was fortunate to receive a scholarship in high school, where I grew up alongside the children of the Patagonia family and witnessed how they pioneered sustainable business practices, like being the first to make jackets from plastic bottles. This experience profoundly influenced my career, leading me to help build multiple online communities with millions of users. Consequently, I’ve studied how large consumer brands are highly susceptible to influence through pranks, art, and media. For example, I supported the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), which orchestrated two high-profile pranks targeting Disney—unknown to many, the world’s largest print publisher of children’s books, which were printed on virgin rainforest paper. The publicity from these pranks forced Disney to reposition over 10,000 printers away from virgin paper.
Such campaigns have proven effective, but there has been a pressing need for a large-scale social game and economic incentive engine. This is where the UNFK web-app, game, and movement step in as a popular cultural gateway into crypto, leveraging art, media, and technology.
What is your strategy for using IRL stunts to create impactful change?
We are executing Borat-level pranks and stunts, such as “where Gary Gensler reveals in a press conference that he is sorry for bashing crypto and then gets publicly spanked by his dominatrix on Wall Street.” We’ve been thrown out of banks and sometimes arrested for our stunts, but it’s all part of creating the magic of using pranks and art to challenge the corrupt status quo.
“We’ve been thrown out of banks and sometimes arrested for our stunts, but it’s all part of creating the magic of using pranks and art to challenge the corrupt status quo.”
GUNNAR LOVELACE
Additionally, we conducted a pilot where we mobilized 5,000 people to shut down five major banks in Los Angeles with a dance party and treasure hunt. We showed up at Chase Bank, highlighted their role in funding 80% of rainforest destruction alongside other big banks, and thousands jammed their corporate switchboard, tagged them on social media, and had a dance-party treasure hunt before moving on to the next bank. We have DJ allies who can draw crowds of 10-20,000 people, and they will be joining us for a national tour starting in the fall if the Community Unlock rewards are achieved in our web app. This will create an unprecedented on-ramp into crypto as a popular cultural arts and music movement that celebrates our collective power in a way that hasn’t been done before.
How does the meme contest work, and how do you envision it fitting into the overall project mission?
Cozomo de’ Medici is hosting the first UNFK Community Prank titled “Give Gensler The Finger.” Gensler has been a shill for bankers who bribe our politicians to promote regulators and regulations that hinder the rapid adoption of crypto because cryptocurrency technology threatens the traditional banking architecture, which has made hundreds of billions of dollars through predatory practices like overdraft and interchange fees.
For a week starting July 24th, participants can enter to win $10,000 in SOL prizes by creating memes that “Give Gensler the Finger” in a playful way, channeling crypto Twitter’s frustration with Gary Gensler’s aggressive stance on the industry. To participate in this meme contest, visit Cozomo de’ Medici’s X post on the topic.
How did you secure participation with leading web3 figures and projects like Cozomo, Pudgy Penguins, and Pixelmon?
The project has attracted an incredible coalition of supporters and KOLs who truly believe in the long-term opportunity to create a mass-market crypto movement centered around pranking corrupt corporations. These KOLs include amazing allies like Cozomo, Luca, Seedphrase, Ice Bagz, Mooncat, Bharat, Joe McCann, and others.
We have lots of mischief, and a really fun video game called Flying Finger is coming soon, where players earn points towards airdrops by giving corrupt bankers and Gensler the finger. Follow us on X and join the unfk.com webapp.
In Partnership With
