Crowdfunding platform GoFundMe stopped raising funds for the “Convoy of Freedom”, citing the decision that the truckers violated the conditions “which prohibit the promotion of violence and harassment.”
American billionaire, founder of Tesla and Space X, Elon Musk compared California crowdfunding platform GoFundMe to “professional thieves” after it froze donations to Freedom Convoy 2022, as evidenced by his Twitter post. He also denied reports that he made donations to protesters.
In addition, Elon posted a screenshot of a 2020 platform tweet that promoted a campaign to raise money for farming during the Occupation of Capitol Hill in downtown Seattle, Washington, where BLM activists created the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. Zone, abbreviated as CHAZ).
The GoFundMe platform came under fire after it announced on Feb. 4 that it was canceling its Freedom Convoy fundraiser, arguing that the truckers violated conditions “which prohibit the promotion of violence and harassment.”
“GoFundMe supports peaceful protests and we believe this was the fundraising goal of Freedom Convoy 2022 when it was first created. We now have evidence from law enforcement that a previously peaceful demonstration became an occupation, with police reports of violence and other illegal activities,” the statement said.
According to the platform, the 10 million Canadian dollars ($8 million) raised for truckers opposing forced coronavirus vaccinations will be donated to “credible and reputable charities selected by the organizers of Freedom Convoy 2022 and verified by GoFundMe.” They later announced that they would return donations to donors.
GoFundMe announced the return of funds to donors, as well as the distribution of money to “trusted organizations”
According to reports, GoFundMe made the decision after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and several of his Liberal Party allies called Freedom Truckers “extremists” and “racists.” In response to these allegations, the organizer of the convoy, Tamara Lich, stated:
“We are here for the love of our families, our communities and our nation. Over the past two years, covid mandates have divided us. This protest began because of the federal government’s restrictions on truckers’ freedoms. Our movement has grown in Canada and around the world because ordinary people fed up with regulations and restrictions in their lives that now seem to be doing more harm than good.Therefore we call on all levels of government in Canada to lift all mandates and restrictions related to the coronavirus.We will continue our protest until we see a clear plan for them elimination.”
Tamara Leach, Freedom Convoy organizer, urges government to lift restrictions
However, at present there is no information definitively confirming that the decision was made by the site under the influence of the government.
After GoFundMe refused to give money to protesters, Leach revealed that truckers had teamed up with GiveSendGo, another online crowdfunding platform, to raise funds for the Freedom Convoy.
Canadians join the Freedom Convoy en masse
Elon Musk is not the only one who has criticized the platform. Ordinary users also expressed their opinion.
“This is a scandal. Political interference. Nothing else”, “If these truckers were a BLM group, law enforcement would have no problem at all to clear them. We cannot tolerate lawlessness, no matter the reason. The US is not doing very well with with this approach”, “Today I had to show my pass 4 times to buy paper, wine, food and clothes. When did this become normal? GOFUNDME is such a disappointment. You are killing our last hope,” people write on Twitter.
This is a scandal. political interference. Nothing more.
— Winston Smith (@Winston_Smith80) February 5, 2022
