Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes ofwebsite accessibilityConvoy 'censorship': Facebook removes page for DC rally, GoFundMe pauses fundraiser | The National Desk
The National Desk dark theme brand iconThe National Desk light theme brand icon
Close Alert

Convoy 'censorship': Facebook removes page for DC rally, GoFundMe pauses fundraiser

by ZACHARY ROGERS | The National Desk

UserWay icon for accessibility widget
Anti-COVID-19 vaccine mandate demonstrators gather as a truck convoy blocks the highway at the busy U.S. border crossing in Coutts, Alberta, Canada, Monday, Jan. 31, 2022. Thousands of antivaccine protesters descended on Canada’s capital of Ottawa in frigid temperatures to protest vaccine mandates, masks and restrictions over the weekend and some remain, blocking traffic around Parliament Hill in what has been the biggest pandemic protest in the country to date.(Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vehicles of the protest convoy are seen parked on the Sir John A. Macdonald parkway leading in to downtown Ottawa on Sunday, Jan. 30, 2022. Thousands of antivaccine protesters descended on Canada’s capital of Ottawa in frigid temperatures to protest vaccine mandates, masks and restrictions over the weekend and some remain, blocking traffic around Parliament Hill in what has been the biggest pandemic protest in the country to date. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vehicles from the protest convoy are parked blocking lanes on a road, Sunday, Jan. 30, 2022 in Ottawa. Residents of the national capital are again being told to avoid traveling downtown as a convoy of trucks and cars snarl traffic protesting government-imposed vaccine mandates and COVID-19 restrictions. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Image icon
10
VIEW ALL PHOTOS
View All Photos
Anti-COVID-19 vaccine mandate demonstrators gather as a truck convoy blocks the highway at the busy U.S. border crossing in Coutts, Alberta, Canada, Monday, Jan. 31, 2022. Thousands of antivaccine protesters descended on Canada’s capital of Ottawa in frigid temperatures to protest vaccine mandates, masks and restrictions over the weekend and some remain, blocking traffic around Parliament Hill in what has been the biggest pandemic protest in the country to date.(Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Facebook Share IconTwitter Share IconEmail Share Icon

WASHINGTON (TND) — A global movement involving truckers protesting vaccine and mask mandates has hit a couple of snags, receiving pushback from web giants Facebook and GoFundMe.

The "Freedom Convoy," a convoy of trucks crossing Canada, could be a world-record setter and is garnering attention and support around the world, with Americans and Australians joining in.

A GoFundMe organized for the event has already passed $10 million CAD (equal to about $7,889,500 USD) in donations. Organizers explain the event's purpose on the GoFundMe page:

To our Fellow Canadians, the time for political over reach [sic] is over. Our current government is implementing rules and mandates that are destroying the foundation of our businesses, industries and livelihoods. Canadians have been integral to the fabric of humanity in many ways that have shaped the planet.
We are taking our fight to the doorsteps of our Federal Government and demanding that they cease all mandates against its people. Small businesses are being destroyed, homes are being destroyed, and people are being mistreated and denied fundamental necessities to survive. It's our duty as Canadians to put an end to this [sic] mandates.
We are asking for Donations to help with the costs of fuel first, and hopefully food and lodgings to help ease the pressures of this arduous task.

But the GoFundMe account for the convoy has now been frozen, meaning no one can donate to the fundraiser on GoFundMe, and the already-donated funds can't be transferred anywhere.

GoFundMe says on the page for the fundraiser the account is "currently paused" to ensure compliance with GoFundMe's terms and services.

This fundraiser is currently paused and under review to ensure it complies with our terms of service and applicable laws and regulations. Our team is working 24/7 and doing all we can to protect both organizers and donors. Thank you for your patience," says GoFundMe on a pinned statement on the page.

The well-known fundraising website says in a statement it wants organizers to outline how the money will be spent before releasing funds. Tamara Lich and B.J. Dichter are listed as the organizers of the Freedom Convoy 2022 GoFundMe page.

Fundraisers must be transparent about the flow of funds and have a plan for how the funds will be spent. Prior to withdrawal of funds, we conduct a thorough review of information provided by the organizer," GoFundMe explains.

At the same time, a group of American truckers following the Freedom Convoy's lead were reportedly using a Facebook page to organize their own convoy to Washington D.C.

Facebook removed the group, titled "Convoy to D.C. 2022," on Wednesday, and the removal has group organizers raising red flags about censorship, according to Fox News.

They [Facebook] like to silence people that speak the truth," the group's founder Jeremy Johnson says in an interview on Fox News.

Johnson tells Fox News his personal Facebook account was also banned, which prompted him to reach out to a civil rights attorney.

A spokesperson for Meta, Facebook's parent company, provided a statement on the page's removal.

We have removed this group for repeatedly violating our policies around QAnon," the spokesperson says in the statement, according to Fox News.

QAnon is an infamous conspiracy group which has drawn ire from media groups and politicians for its supposed spread of misinformation and malicious rhetoric. QAnon supporters are accused of being the primary aggressors during the January 6 riots at the nation's Capitol.

The BBC says "at its heart, QAnon is a wide-ranging, completely unfounded theory that says that President Trump is waging a secret war against elite Satan-worshipping paedophiles in government, business and the media."

Facebook has been purging itself of QAnon content for quite some time, saying it is working hard to deplatform "militarized social movements".

Facebook apparently sees the "Convoy to D.C. 2022" as a QAnon operation, or at least sees the convoy as being somehow related to QAnon.

A co-organizer of Convoy to D.C. 2022, Brian Base, tells Fox News he disputes how Facebook has labeled his group.

I have to laugh about that. Can they contact me or something? Can we talk? That's not true," Base tells Fox and Friends.

Both Johnson and Base claim their movement would have been a peaceful protest, one against mandates for vaccines and masks.

"The government needs to really take a look at what the American people want," Johnson says, according to Fox News. "And they don’t want mandates."

Loading ...