Digital fundraising platform GoFundMe announced Saturday that it would refund all the money donated to the “freedom convoy” of truckers in Ottawa, Ontario.
GoFundMe said it would facilitate the process of returning all $9 million in donations, a shift from the message put out by the company Friday that said all donations to the convoy would be given to a cause chosen by the protesters unless otherwise requested.
“Due to donor feedback, we are simplifying the process. We will automatically refund all contributions directly — donors do not need to submit a request,” the statement read. “You can expect to see your refund within 7–10 business days.”
GOFUNDME SHUTS DOWN FREEDOM CONVOY FUNDRAISER THAT RAISED $9 MILLION
Prior to Saturday’s announcement, donors had until Feb. 19 to request a refund.
Friday’s announcement was met with hostility from donors. Tesla CEO Elon Musk questioned whether GoFundMe was guilty of a “double standard,” tweeting a news clip announcing GoFundMe’s promotion of a fundraiser that benefited participants in the anti-police Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, or CHOP, protest. GoFundMe has not responded to Musk’s criticism.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suggested he may spearhead an investigation into GoFundMe’s “deceptive practices,” arguing the company’s original plan of “commandeer[ing] $9M in donations sent to support truckers and give it to causes of their own choosing” was a “fraud.”
But others applauded GoFundMe’s refusal to enable donations to the convoy. Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson thanked GoFundMe for pulling the funding after protesters blocked major roadways in and out of the Canadian city.
“These protesters have been holding our city hostage for a week now,” Watson tweeted Friday. “I’m hopeful that limiting their access to funding and resources will restrict their ability to remain in Ottawa.”
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The pull of funding from the Freedom Convoy is not the first time the organization has canceled funding for right-leaning causes. In 2015, the crowdsourcing company closed a fundraiser for a defense fund for a Christian bakery in Oregon that reportedly broke a state discrimination law after refusing to fulfill orders for a gay wedding, prompting the company to issue a new guidance that excluded “campaigns in defense of formal charges or claims of heinous crimes, violent, hateful, sexual or discriminatory acts,” according to the Washington Post.
Using this new guideline, the organization also closed the fundraiser for the defense fund for Kyle Rittenhouse, who was being tried for murder, in 2020. Fundraisers for Rittenhouse are now allowed after he was cleared of all charges.
The protest in Ottawa began last week as a rally against Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for crossborder truckers, but it has since grown to include demonstrations against a number of health restrictions and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
