Key Takeaways:
- GoFundMe stops showing support to Freedom Convoy 2022 by freezing donations.
- The company says that the protestor’s acts of violence and harassment go against its terms of service.
- They will be refunding payments to all donors automatically.
GoFundMe, a crowdfunding platform, has announced that it will stop sending payments received as donations to the organisers of Freedom Convoy 2022. The money will be refunded immediately as the protest no longer abides by rules and resorts to violence and harassment.
On January 15, 2022, the Government of Canada introduced the Covid-19 vaccination mandate, and a group of truckers started a movement against this. Gradually, thousands of protestors have joined the movement, and participants started displaying acts of hate. It included the confederate flag and swastikas during the protest, and the truckers parked in downtown Ottawa bothered the residents continuously by blaring horns at them.
GoFundMe said, sharing its decision in a blog, “GoFundMe supports peaceful protests, and we believe that was the intention of the Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraiser when it was first created.” However, they say that the protest is now violating a rule mentioned in terms of service that doesn’t allow using measures of violence and harassment, and the page created for raising funds for the protest have also been removed from the website.
“We now have evidence from law enforcement that the previously peaceful demonstration has become an occupation, with police reports of violence and other unlawful activity.”, says the crowdfunding website. GoFundMe also says that they are working with their organisers to enable refunds to all the donors without requiring a request from them. And early Saturday, the website said that it will be directing the refunds automatically, “due to donor feedback.”
