GoFundMe Is Going To Refund Millions Of Dollars In Donations Made To The Viral Canadian Trucker Protest

GoFundMe will automatically refund all donations made to a multi-million dollar campaign for a group of Canadian truckers protesting vaccine mandates, the fundraising platform announced Saturday, after it started to face fierce backlash from right-wing figures and Republican politicians over its decision to remove the online campaign.

The decision to remove the campaign page from its platform came Friday after the company said the demonstrations being funded by the campaign had become an occupation, sparking incidents of violence and other illegal activity.

On Friday, the company asked donors to submit a request for a refund until Feb. 19. It had already released $1 million of the funds to organizers, but said that any remaining funds would be distributed to verified charities selected by the Freedom Convoy 2022 organizers.

However, hours later, the company said that due to "donor feedback" it would automatically refund all contributions directly to donors.

GoFundMe's decision to end the campaign and direct funds to charities sparked ire from right-wing and conservative figures who urged people not to use the fundraising platform. Former president Donald Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., urged Republican attorneys general to launch investigations against the site.

Some Republican officials heeded the call, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who tweeted that he planned to investigate the fundraising site's "potential fraud & deception."