GoFundMe Is Going To Refund Millions Of Dollars In Donations Made To The Viral Canadian Trucker Protest
Right-wing and conservative figures have blasted GoFundMe after it decided to shut down the fundraising effort for the massive anti-vaccine-mandate protest in Canada on Friday.
GoFundMe will automatically refund all donations made to a multimillion-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 said donors could 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 into 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."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also said he was working with the state's attorney general, Ashley Moody, to investigate GoFundMe.
DeSantis appeared to incorrectly tweet that GoFundMe was "commandeering" the money donated for the demonstrations and directing it to "causes of their own choosing." (GoFundMe had said it would distribute the funds to charities selected by the organizers.)
DeSantis's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment or clarification on the statement.
GoFundMe's decision to refund the money was the latest attempt by the company to address the growing anti-vaccine movement that has become one of the largest fundraising efforts on the platform.
The company had originally decided to let the fundraising effort stay on its platform, despite its vow to remove campaigns that contribute to vaccine misinformation. More than $7 million had been raised earlier this week.
The Canadian caravan had originally seen truckers protesting vaccine mandates and pandemic restrictions, but the effort has quickly grown thanks to the support of the alt-right, fringe groups, and pro-Trump supporters.
Supporters of the protest were also 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.
GoFundMe told BuzzFeed News on Wednesday it was reviewing the campaign to ensure it was complying with its rules. On Friday, the company announced it was removing the page for violating its rules.
"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," the company said in a statement.
The Ottawa Police Service thanked GoFundMe for its decision.
GoFundMe Says The Viral Campaign For
Canada’s Trucker Protest Hasn’t Violated
Its Rules Even Though It Sure Seems
Like It Does
The “Freedom Convoy” campaign has become one of the largest in
the platform's history and is funding the massive trucker protest despite concerns from Canadian law enforcement.
Truck drivers and supporters protest against vaccine mandates in the trucking industry in Ottawa,
Canada, Jan. 31, 2022.
GoFundMe says a fundraiser that’s collected millions of dollars for vaccine mandate protesters is “still compliant” with its terms of service despite vowing to remove campaigns that contribute to vaccine misinformation, support travel to political events where there’s a risk of violence, or otherwise violate its rules.
In the past two weeks, supporters of a group of Canadian truckers protesting vaccine mandates have raised more than $7.8 million on the crowdfunding platform, one of the biggest campaigns in its history. Known as the “Freedom Convoy 2022,” the campaign has supported a network of truckers traveling across Canada protesting what they describe as authoritarian government overreach in the form of COVID rules, despite concerns and warnings from law enforcement and business owners. The cause has quickly become a boon for right-wing media in Canada and the US, which have helped amplify the campaign across social media.
The caravan started in January as a small protest against a recent vaccine mandate that requires truckers entering the country to be fully vaccinated or to follow testing and quarantine rules. But thanks to leaders with alt-right and fringe ties, it rapidly evolved into a massive, well-organized grassroots operation with multiple convoys and leaders, who have been hosting freedom rallies much like the pro-Trump and "Stop the Steal" gatherings in the US. Some members have also now been accused of harassing people at a homeless shelter, desecrating war memorials and monuments, waving racist flags and swastikas, snarling traffic, and obstructing a US–Canadian border crossing. The movement has forced businesses and vaccine clinics to close due to the outpouring of maskless protesters. In Ottawa, where thousands of convoy supporters converged this past weekend for a demonstration, a popular mall has, according to the Retail Council of Canada, lost millions of dollars in revenue due to the protest.
Truckers and organizers, however, insist their demonstrations have remained peaceful and amicable, sharing videos of participants at rallies singing, cooking, picking up trash, and clearing icy sidewalks.
On Wednesday, GoFundMe paused and is reviewing the campaign “to ensure it complies with our terms of service and applicable laws and regulations.” In the past, GoFundMe ended the mega "We the People Will Build the Wall" campaign after organizer Brian Kolfage changed the terms for how the money would be used. It’s possible that GoFundMe is now asking how organizers plan to use the millions in donations since the amount raised would far exceed what's necessary to cover food and transportation for truckers. And while pausing the campaign and putting it under review significantly hinders its fundraising, it does not end it. GoFundMe has said it has already distributed $1 million of the funds after organizers explained how the money would be used.
In response to questions from BuzzFeed News Wednesday evening, GoFundMe sent a statement explaining that it has been closely monitoring the campaign “to ensure the funds are going to the intended recipients and that the fundraiser remains within [its] Terms of Service.” The company said it requested more information from organizers and that they were “still compliant” with the rules, implying that the campaign had already been reviewed and that the site paused donations as it waited for a response.
At the time of its creation, GoFundMe said the Freedom Convoy campaign did not violate its rules regarding violence
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