GoFundMe Refunds Donations To Canadian Trucker Protest After Conservative Backlash
Summary from the AllSides News Team
GoFundMe has decided to automatically refund the $10 million of donations they retracted from the Canadian truckers leading a protest against the country's vaccine mandates.
The crowdfunding platform initially shut down the campaign to support the convoy, citing "law enforcement reports of violence and other unlawful activity." GoFundMe announced in a tweet on Saturday morning that they "will be refunding all donations to the Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraiser" within seven to 10 business days. GoFundMe's initial decision to terminate the campaign promptly sparked criticism from many conservative voices within Canada and the U.S. The "Freedom Convoy" of Canadian truckers is said to have grossed more money than any major Canadian political party during the last quarter of 2021.
The GoFundMe story was covered prominently across the spectrum, especially by right-rated outlets. Many left-rated outlets emphasized how the Canadian truckers violated the GoFundMe rules, some of which were reported to have "harassed people at a homeless shelter, vandalized war memorials, waved racist flags, and forced businesses to shut down because of maskless protesters." Right-rated outlets were more likely to highlight conservative voices that criticized the platform's actions like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who said that he would "investigate" the company.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Center
Conservatives Vent Fury as GoFundMe Cancels Canadian Truckers' Fundraiser
Conservatives have reacted with fury after GoFundMe canceled a fundraiser for Canadian truckers protesting against a COVID-19 vaccine mandate and said it would refund all contributions.
The fundraising effort had raised C$10 million—around $7.9 million—and C$1 million had already been distributed to the organizers of the so-called Freedom Convoy before GoFundMe took the decision to stop the fundraiser.
Truckers have been engaged in a protest in downtown Ottawa for almost a week arguing against vaccine mandates, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling for them to go home but ruling out deploying the army to remove them....
From the Right
After Backlash, GoFundMe Says It Will Automatically Refund ‘Freedom Convoy’ Donors
Following a backlash from GoFundMe’s decision to shut down the “Freedom Convoy” fundraiser, citing unspecified “evidence” that the protest was no longer peaceful, the fundraising website has backtracked when it comes to refunding donors.
When first announcing it was shutting down the Freedom Convoy, GoFundMe told donors they would need to use a “dedicated refund form” to request their money back, otherwise the funds would be sent to a “credible and established” charity verified by GoFundMe. On Saturday morning, however, GoFundMe changed the decision and said the funds would be...
From the Left
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...
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