The fundraising for the “Convoy of Freedom” was stopped by GoFundMe, because the truckers violated the rules against promoting violence and harassment.
Elon Musk, the billionaire behind Tesla and SpaceX, criticized GoFundMe for freezing donations to Freedom Convoy 2022, calling them “professional thieves” in a tweet. He also denied making donations to the protesters.
Elon shared a tweet from 2020 promoting a fundraising campaign for farming during the Occupation of Capitol Hill in downtown Seattle as evidence against GoFundMe's actions.
GoFundMe faced backlash for canceling the Freedom Convoy fundraiser and accusing the truckers of promoting violence and harassment.
The statement from GoFundMe mentioned that they believed the initial goal of the Freedom Convoy 2022 was peaceful, but had evidence of a shift to occupation with reports of violence and illegal activities.
The 10 million Canadian dollars raised for opposing forced coronavirus vaccinations will be donated to charities chosen by the Freedom Convoy 2022 organizers and approved by GoFundMe, with the option for donors to receive refunds.
GoFundMe will return the funds to donors and distribute the money to trusted organizations.
GoFundMe's decision to stop the fundraising came after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Party allies labeled the Freedom Truckers as “extremists” and “racists.” The organizer of the convoy, Tamara Lich, responded to these accusations.
Tamara Lich, the organizer of the convoy, expressed the reason behind the protest and called on the Canadian government to lift all Covid-related mandates and restrictions. The protest reflects the frustrations of ordinary people with the regulations.
Tamara Leach, Freedom Convoy organizer, urges government to lift restrictions.
There is no concrete evidence confirming that the government influenced GoFundMe's decision.
Following GoFundMe's refusal to fund the protesters, the truckers turned to GiveSendGo, another online crowdfunding platform, to raise money 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
