A boycott of sorts may be brewing against online fundraising site GoFundMe after the platform cut off donations to the "Freedom Convoy" trucker protest in what is being called a huge public relations mistake.
Protestors choked off commercial traffic between the U.S. and Canada at the Ambassador Bridge for almost a week, causing massive disruptions of traded goods between the two countries. Truck drivers and their allies were protesting vaccine mandates the Canadian government put into place for unvaccinated truckers crossing at international borders. The bridge finally reopened on Sunday.
GoFundMe explained its decision to shut down the fundraiser in support of the truckers, saying it violated the company's terms of service which prohibit the promotion of violence and harassment.
"GoFundMe supports peaceful protests and we believe that was the intention of the Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraiser when it was first created," the company said in a statement. "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."
After initially announcing that donors would have to apply to get their money back, GoFundMe said it would automatically refund all contributions directly to users who donated to the fundraiser.
GoFundMe's decision to pull the fundraiser has led to investigations by Texas, Florida, Missouri and West Virginia for blocking and withholding donations, Fox News reported.
Around $7.8 million had been raised before the fundraiser was removed from the site, according to NPR.
The move by GoFundMe forced users to switch to a different platform -- Christian fundraising site GiveSendGo -- in order to raise funds for the protesters.
"I think this was a huge PR mistake by GoFundMe," GiveSendGo founder and CFO Jacob Wells told Fox News. "People are vowing to never use GoFundMe again because of the ideological stances that they're taking. We take a neutral position. We allow people to fundraise."
Meantime, the move to GiveSendGo ended with its own roadblocks. On February 10, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled to freeze access to all funds donated to the "Freedom Convoy 2022" or "Adopt-a-Trucker" campaigns. Wells said GiveSendGo is currently appealing the decision.
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