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GiveSendGo
Type of site
Crowdfunding
Available in18 languages
Founded2014[1]
HeadquartersBoston, MA
Founder(s)Heather Wilson, Jacob Wells[1][2]
Revenue$4-5 million (2022)[3]
Employees30 (as of 2022)[4]
URLgivesendgo.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional
LaunchedOctober 2015[1]
Current statusOnline

GiveSendGo is a Christian crowdfunding website.[5] GiveSendGo has attracted controversy for allowing far-right extremists to fundraise, including neo-Nazis, white supremacists and hate groups.[15]

History and philosophy

[edit]

The website was founded in 2014 to fundraise "for missionary trips, medical expenses for needy families, and other charitable causes,"[8] and because the founders perceived GoFundMe to have an anti-Christian bias.[5]

GoFundMe, a major crowdfunding platform, prohibits in its terms of service any "campaigns that raise money to cover the legal defense of anyone formally charged with an alleged violent crime"[16][17] as well as campaigns promoting hate and intolerance.[18] GiveSendGo first rose to prominence after it allowed several campaigns to fundraise that GoFundMe had previously removed,[8] in particular for Kyle Rittenhouse,[8] rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6,[8][19][20] and the Canada convoy protest.[5][6][21][4]

GiveSendGo's founders have described it as a fundraising platform that values freedom and rejects censorship, stating that platforms should not restrict legal activities.[2][22] The founders have stated "that the danger of the suppression of speech is much more dangerous than the speech itself"[9] and emphasized the importance of the presumption of innocence for those accused of crimes and the ability to fundraise for a legal defense.[5]

GiveSendGo does not permit fundraising for abortions or gender transitions by minors.[4][5] Advocates of conversion therapy have fundraised on the site.[7]

Relationship to right-wing extremism

[edit]

In January 2022, the British anti-disinformation organization Logically reported that GiveSendGo was the hub for a far-right funding network that included QAnon supporters, anti-vaccine activists and the far-right group Project Veritas.[7] A January 2023 report by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) stated that GiveSendGo had hosted 230 fundraising campaigns tied to extremist groups and causes. The ADL described GiveSendGo as "a singularly important part of the extremist fundraising ecosystem" that enabled extremist groups to raise $5.4 million since 2016.[23][24][25]

Critics have labeled GiveSendGo as "alt-tech".[8][26][27]

Data breaches

[edit]

GiveSendGo has been hacked several times.[28]

April 2021 data breach

[edit]

In April 2021, internal company data was leaked to Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets), which made donor information from GiveSendGo available to journalists and researchers. The information identified previously anonymous high-dollar donors to far-right actors including members of the Proud Boys, many of whose fundraising efforts were directly related to the 2021 United States Capitol attack.[6][29] The platform had previously been criticized for its refusal to restrict use by far-right extremists.[30][5] The leaks also revealed that police officers and public officials in the United States had donated to Kyle Rittenhouse.[31][32] In May 2021, USA Today used the GiveSendGo data to report that nearly $100,000 was raised for the Proud Boys on GiveSendGo from people of Chinese descent in the days before the 2021 Capitol attack.[33] The following month, they used the data to report that a member of the Koch family had anonymously donated to a crowdfunding campaign supporting 2020 election fraud conspiracy theories.[34]

February 2022 data breaches

[edit]

In February 2022, after many anonymous donors supported the 2022 Freedom Convoy, DDoSecrets began providing journalists and researchers with a hacked list of donors' personal information from GiveSendGo. Later that month, GiveSendGo was hacked again, exposing donors for every campaign in the site's history, which DDoSecrets gave to journalists and researchers.[29]

A report by TechCrunch on February 8, 2022, noted that a security lapse had exposed the personal information of donors.[35][36]

On the early morning of February 11, 2022, the GiveSendGo website was hacked and redirected to givesendgone.wtf, which displayed a message condemning the website, the Freedom Convoy, and their sympathizers as a threat to democracy. A video from the Disney film Frozen II was set as a backdrop to the statement calling the donors and protesters "hatriots", "grifters", and "assholes" and focusing on scenarios of domestic or foreign influenced insurgencies disguised as protests.[37]

A link to a .csv file, allegedly containing names of Freedom Convoy donors, was also posted. Shortly after the hack was noticed and began trending on the social media, the website domain was restored. The GiveSendGo website was not operational as of February 14, instead, displaying the message "Application is under maintenance we will be back very soon."[37]

A data breach on February 13, 2022, was reported by Vice News.[38] The breach revealed the personal details of 92,845 donors to the Freedom Convoy fundraising campaign, including a $90,000 donation by American software billionaire Thomas Siebel.[38] Of the 92,845 donations, 55.7% of donors were from the United States, and 39% from Canada. Some of the American donors' names correspond to the names of donors to Donald Trump's campaigns.[39][38] Some members of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) were revealed to have donated to the convoy on GiveSendGo, prompting the OPP to launch an internal conduct investigation.[40]

A data breach on February 15, 2022, was reported by The Daily Dot.[29] The data included a full database dump, source code for their Bitbucket repo, information from their customer service systems and some credit card information. The Daily Dot claimed GiveSendGo had been warned about the vulnerability in 2018. Several of the donors reported harassment and professional consequences after their names were published online.[41][42]

On February 24, 2022, another data breach was reported by The Daily Dot.[43] The data included more information on donors to the Freedom Convoy fundraiser.

Noteworthy campaigns

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Kyle Rittenhouse

[edit]

A GiveSendGo campaign for Kyle Rittenhouse raised over $250,000,[44][45] while similar campaigns on GoFundMe[16] and Fundly were removed.[46] In response, Discover blocked transactions toward GiveSendGo.[47][21] It was the Kyle Rittenhouse campaign that is cited as the event that gave GiveSendGo its reputation as a refuge for campaigns too controversial for other crowdfunding sites.[48][21] The leak published by DDoSecrets also revealed that police officers and public officials in the United States had donated to Rittenhouse.[31][32]

2021 United States Capitol attack

[edit]

PayPal suspended payments to GiveSendGo because it was raising funds for people who had participated in the 2021 United States Capitol attack.[49][19][50] As of April 2022, the site had helped rioters raise over $3.5 million.[51] In January 2021, after receiving objections from Stripe, one of their payment processing providers, GiveSendGo suspended the ability for users to donate to pages associated with the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and 2020 election fraud conspiracy theories.[21][52][53][54]

2022 Canadian convoy protests

[edit]

In early February 2022, supporters of the trucker convoy occupying Ottawa, the Canadian capital, and blocking border crossings between Canada and the U.S. to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions, raised over $9 million on the GiveSendGo platform.[55][56][57]

On February 10, 2022, a statement was issued by Ontario's premier, Doug Ford, stating that the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, upon request from the Ontario provincial Government, has granted a restraining order against the company, intended to freeze all donations raised for the protesters.[58][59] The GiveSendGo founders responded on Twitter that any funds raised via GiveSendGo flow directly to the campaign recipients, denied that the funds are actually frozen, and denied that Canada has jurisdiction over GiveSendGo management.[60]

During parliamentary questioning in March 2022, co-founder Jacob Wells stated that because of GiveSendGo's firm stance on free speech, even if individuals belonged to groups such the Ku Klux Klan and the Proud Boys, they would still be permitted to fundraise on their website, provided the activity was legal.[5][61][2][62] Since February 2021, the Proud Boys have been designated as a terrorist group by the Canadian government.[63]

Convoy to Canberra

[edit]

The Convoy to Canberra anti-vaccine mandate protest in Australia was organized on GiveSendGo, among other platforms.[64]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Press". GiveSendGo. Archived from the original on March 13, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Taylor, Stephanie (March 3, 2022). "GiveSendGo co-founder says Ottawa protests were 'peaceful,' Trudeau should have met truckers". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  3. ^ Rabey, Steve (July 6, 2023). "Christian crowdfunder GiveSendGo supports believers, Proud Boys and antisemites". Baptist News Global. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Abraham, Yvonne (April 9, 2022). "Crowdfunding Haters". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on May 1, 2024. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Lavin, Talia (April 5, 2021). "Crowdfunding Hate in the Name of Christ". The Nation. Archived from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2022. Along with their sister Emmalie, they founded GiveSendGo in 2014 because, as a 2017 blog post put it, 'Gofundme has taken a stance against Christians and has been taking down campaigns that they did not agree with.'
  6. ^ a b c Wilson, Jason (April 10, 2021). "Proud Boys and other far-right groups raise millions via Christian funding site". The Guardian. Archived from the original on July 12, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c Denkinson, Katherine (January 28, 2022). "GiveSendGo: Christ, Cash, and Conspiracy Theories". Logically. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Bergengruen, Vera; Wilson, Chris (March 4, 2022). "Crowdfunding Site for Right-Wing Causes Generates Windfall". Time. Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  9. ^ a b Dickinson, Tim (August 22, 2023). "A Christian Crowdfunding Site Has a White-Power Problem". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 20, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  10. ^ Bergengruen, Vera (January 31, 2023). "How Extremists Raised More than $6 Million On Crowdfunding Sites". Time. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  11. ^ Gilbert, David (January 5, 2021). "The Proud Boys Are Raking In Donations from a Christian Crowdfunding Site". Vice. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  12. ^ "Christian fundraising site platforms neo-Nazis, white supremacists". The Jerusalem Post. March 25, 2023. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  13. ^ Makuch, Ben (March 23, 2023). "Christian Crowdfunding Site Hosting Neo-Nazi Trying to Build Whites-Only Community". Vice News. Archived from the original on September 28, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  14. ^ Hosseini, Raheem (February 26, 2024). "California neo-Nazi trying to crowdfund tour of city council meetings to provoke free speech lawsuit". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  15. ^ [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]
  16. ^ a b Cohen, Rebecca (November 19, 2021). "GoFundMe explains why it removed fundraisers for Kyle Rittenhouse's legal fees". Insider.com. Archived from the original on July 12, 2024. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  17. ^ Snow, Anita (February 22, 2023). "Prosecutor: Arizona border rancher shot unarmed men, 1 died". Arizona Capitol Times. Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 2, 2024. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  18. ^ Hauer, Sarah; Brophy, Natalie (August 27, 2020). "A Texas legal foundation is planning to help defend Kyle Rittenhouse and will accept donations after GoFundMe took down fundraisers". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on May 2, 2024. Retrieved May 2, 2024. GoFundMe forbids people from using the platform to raise money for 'the implicit or explicit purpose of or involving for the legal defense of alleged crimes associated with hate, violence, harassment, bullying, discrimination, terrorism, or intolerance of any kind relating to race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, serious disabilities or diseases, financial crimes or crimes of deception,' according to the terms of service.
  19. ^ a b Kimball, Whitney (January 11, 2021). "PayPal Dumps GiveSendGo, the 'Christian' Crowdfunding Site Used By Proud Boys". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on October 1, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  20. ^ Kunzelman, Michael (May 28, 2023). "Jan. 6 rioters are raking in thousands in donations. Now the US is coming after their haul". Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 1, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  21. ^ a b c d Brittain, Amy; Willman, David (January 18, 2021). "'A place to fund hope': How Proud Boys and other fringe groups found refuge on a Christian fundraising website". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 24, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  22. ^ Murphy, Hannah (April 29, 2024). "Crowdfunding website defends hosting 'whites-only' farming community fundraiser". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  23. ^ Carless, Will; Guynn, Jessica (January 31, 2023). "Exclusive: Extremists raised $6.2 million on crowdfunding websites in 'heyday' of financing". USA Today. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  24. ^ "ADL Crowdfunding Report: How Bigots and Extremists Collect and Use Millions in Online Donations" (PDF). Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism. January 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  25. ^ Guynn, Jessica; Carless, Will (February 23, 2023). "What is Treasury Department doing to stop extremists from crowdfunding? Democrats ask Yellen". USA Today. Archived from the original on July 12, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  26. ^ Dalton, Ben (May 17, 2022). "The Evolution of the Tech and Fundraising Platforms for Extremists Kicked Off the Regular Internet". Slate. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  27. ^ Yang, Yunkang (October 14, 2022). "Alex Jones' lawsuit losses are not enough". NBC News. Archived from the original on March 11, 2024. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  28. ^ Gilbert, David (February 16, 2022). "Hackers Leak Entire Donor History of Every Campaign on This Christian Crowdfunding Site". Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  29. ^ a b c Thalen, Mikael (February 15, 2022). "Donation site used by Freedom Convoy suffers 3rd data leak in two weeks". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on March 5, 2022. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  30. ^ Smith, Brenna; Guynn, Jessica; Carless, Will (March 28, 2021). "Insurrection fundraiser: Capitol riot extremists, Trump supporters raise money for lawyer bills online". USA Today. Archived from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  31. ^ a b Wilson, Jason (April 16, 2021). "US police and public officials donated to Kyle Rittenhouse, data breach reveals". The Guardian. Archived from the original on July 12, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  32. ^ a b Vigdor, Neil (April 22, 2021). "Officer Who Gave $25 to Kyle Rittenhouse's Defense Is Fired". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 24, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  33. ^ Carless, Will (May 4, 2021). "Proud Boys saw wave of contributions from Chinese diaspora before Capitol attack". USA Today. Archived from the original on January 5, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  34. ^ Smith, Brenna (June 4, 2021). "GiveSendGo data: Koch family member donated to crowdfunding campaign claiming election fraud". USA Today. Archived from the original on June 16, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  35. ^ Whittaker, Zack (February 8, 2022). "Donation site for Ottawa truckers' 'Freedom Convoy' protest exposed donors' data". TechCrunch. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  36. ^ Faife, Corin (February 14, 2022). "Funding site linked to Canadian trucker protest hacked, donor info leaked online". The Verge. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  37. ^ a b Gregg, Aaron (February 14, 2022). "Crowdfunding site for Canadian 'Freedom Convoy' disabled in possible hack". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  38. ^ a b c Gilbert, David (February 14, 2022). "Hackers Just Leaked the Names of 92,000 'Freedom Convoy' Donors". Vice News. Archived from the original on February 14, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  39. ^ Thompson, Elizabeth; Rocha, Roberto; Leung, Albert (February 14, 2022). "Hacked convoy data shows more than half of donations came from U.S." CBC News. Toronto: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on February 14, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  40. ^ Jackson, Hannah (February 22, 2022). "OPP launches internal conduct investigation after members appear to have donated to convoy". Global News. Archived from the original on February 24, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  41. ^ "Opinion | Shutting Down Support for the Truckers". Wall Street Journal. February 16, 2022. Archived from the original on October 24, 2023. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  42. ^ Stabile, Angelica (February 7, 2022). "'Canceled in the USA': Dan Bongino spotlights Americans dropped by woke culture". Fox News. Archived from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  43. ^ Thalen, Mikael (February 24, 2022). "GiveSendGo hit with yet another data breach as more donors' personal info exposed". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on March 5, 2022. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  44. ^ Bogggioni, Tom (August 31, 2020). "Christian fundraising site has raised over $250,000 for accused Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse". Salon.com. Archived from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  45. ^ Stone, Roxanne (August 31, 2020). "Christian crowdfunding site GiveSendGo defends decision to host campaign for Kyle Rittenhouse". Religion News Service. Archived from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  46. ^ Dickson, EJ (August 27, 2020). "Following Scrutiny, Facebook Blocks Searches for Alleged Kenosha Shooter's Name". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  47. ^ Martin, Ken (September 4, 2020). "Discover blocks donations to site raising money for Kyle Rittenhouse defense". Fox Business. Archived from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  48. ^ Sommer, Will (December 11, 2020). "How a Christian Crowdfunding Site Became the Go-to Page for Trumpist Rage". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  49. ^ Kirkpatrick, David D. (January 16, 2021). "Before the Capitol Riot, Calls for Cash and Talk of Revolution". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  50. ^ Singh, Kanishka (January 12, 2021). "PayPal blocks site that helped raise funds for those who attended Capitol violence". Reuters. Archived from the original on October 1, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  51. ^ Wilson, Teddy (April 11, 2022). "Give Send Riot: Jan. 6 Defendants Have Raised More than $3.5 Million Through Christian Crowdfunding Website". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  52. ^ Ballhaus, Rebecca; Safdar, Khadeeja; Ramachandran, Shalini (June 16, 2021). "Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, Forceful on Jan. 6, Privately Are in Turmoil". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on June 21, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  53. ^ Solon, Olivia; Miranda, Leticia (January 13, 2021). "'Too little, too late': Extremism experts criticize payment companies". NBC News. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  54. ^ "Oath Keepers and the Business of Extremism". The Wall Street Journal. June 28, 2021. Archived from the original on August 21, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  55. ^ McIntire, Mike; Keller, Michael H. (February 15, 2022). "Canadians are responsible for roughly half of the money raised online for the trucker convoy, leaked data shows". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  56. ^ Wade, Matthew; Baker, Stephanie A.; Walsh, Michael J. (September 24, 2023). "Crowdfunding platforms as conduits for ideological struggle and extremism: On the need for greater regulation and digital constitutionalism". Policy & Internet. doi:10.1002/poi3.369. ISSN 1944-2866. Archived from the original on May 3, 2024. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  57. ^ Nelson, Joshua Q. (February 9, 2022). "GiveSendGo CFO rips GoFundMe for blocking Canada trucker donations: 'Stands in the face of all freedoms'". Fox News. Archived from the original on November 13, 2023. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  58. ^ "Ontario court freezes access to funds raised for protest convoy on GiveSendGo platform". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. February 10, 2022. Archived from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  59. ^ Klawans, Justin; Fung, Katherine (February 15, 2022). "GiveSendGo Risks Breaking Anti-Terrorism Laws by Funding Truckers' Protests". Newsweek. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  60. ^ Murphy, Paul P.; Newton, Paula (February 11, 2022). "Crowd fundraising site says they will defy Canadian court order to stop disbursing funds to convoy protesters". CNN. Archived from the original on July 12, 2024. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  61. ^ Kirkup, Kristy; Curry, Bill (March 3, 2022). "Co-founder of Christian crowdfunding site GiveSendGo says his company would allow fundraising for KKK if activity was legal". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  62. ^ Connolly, Amanda (March 3, 2022). "GoFundMe, GiveSendGo defend handling of convoy blockade fundraising campaigns". Global News. Archived from the original on July 12, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  63. ^ "Currently listed entities". Public Safety Canada. Government of Canada. February 3, 2021. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  64. ^ Wilson, Cam (February 16, 2022). "Bangladeshi Facebook accounts: the foreign links behind convoy protests". Crikey. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
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