GoFundMe refunds donations to Canadian trucker protests after backlash

GoFundMe will be automatically refunding all donations made to a campaign for Canadian truckers protesting vaccine mandates that has amassed several millions of dollars.

BuzzFeed News reported that the fundraising platform announced on Saturday after it started to face backlash from right-wing politicians and spokespeople after originally deciding to remove the online campaign. 

The company stated that the protests being funded by the campaign had sparked incidents of violence and illegal activity. On Friday, GoFundMe said that donors could submit a refund request up until February 19th.

One million dollars of the funds had already been released to the campaign organizers, but the company specified that any remaining funds would be distributed to verified charities chosen by the Freedom Convoy 2022 organizers.

Hours later, GoFundMe said that after receiving “donor feedback” they decided to automatically refund all contributions directly to donors. 

Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and Attorney General Ken Paxton (R-TX) both called for an investigation into the company for potential fraud & deception.

GoFundMe has stated that this decision is part of their attempt to address the widespread anti-Covid vaccine movement that has taken to their site for fundraising. The company had previously vowed to stop the spread of vaccine misinformation on their website.

Supposedly, the Canadian trucker campaign just started with protecting the vaccine mandates and Covid restrictions, but has since turned into support for far right groups. Reports also say that protestors were harassing people at a homeless shelter, vandalized war memorials, waved racist flags, and forced businesses to shut down.

The company stated, “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.”

Editor’s Note

See this more detailed treatment of the GoFundMe affair.