Crowdfunding sites block fundraising campaigns for Charlottesville suspect

GoFundMe has removed 'multiple' campaigns for Charlottesville suspect James Alex Fields because they contravene rules regarding hate speech and violence.

James Alex Fields Jr

Twenty-year-old James Alex Fields Jr was arrested after a car rammed into protesters in Charlottesville. Source: Image grab from Reuters/Getty Images

GoFundMe and other crowdfunding sites are cracking down on campaigns set up to raise money for the man accused of ramming a car into a crowd of protesters at a far-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia last weekend.

James Alex Fields Jr, 20, was arrested over the incident, which left one woman dead and 19 others injured on Saturday, when the white nationalist rally turned violent.

Fields faces several charges including second-degree murder. He was denied bail in a Virginia court on Monday.

Supporters have since attempted to crowdfund money to help pay for his legal defence. 

GoFundMe says it has removed "multiple" campaigns for Fields because they contravene their rules regarding hate speech and violence.
Confederate Monuments Protest
White nationalist demonstrators walk into Lee park surrounded by counter demonstrators in Charlottesville, Va. Source: AP
"Those campaigns did not raise any money, and they were immediately removed," Director of Strategic Communications, Bobby Whithorne told .

He said so far fewer than 10 campaigns have been posted, and GoFundMe will continue to delete any similar campaigns created.

A number of GoFundMe campaigns have against the white nationalist march.

One of these was in support of the family of Heather Heyer, the 32-year-old paralegal who was killed in the car attack.
Similar crowdfunding sites, such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo, both have policies prohibiting hate speech or encouraging violence.

They told Reuters they have not seen any campaigns for Fields, but are monitoring the situation. 

However, while far-right groups have been blocked by mainstream crowdfunding sites, an "alternative" platform called Rootbocks, which says it's anti-censorship and "dedicated to the principles of liberty and freedom of speech", has been hosting at least two campaigns in support of people who marched at Charlottesville. 

One campaign was set up by one of the organisers of the Charlottesville rally. 

The Rootbocks site is currently unavailable, with the site tweeting that their web host has suspended their account and they are transferring to a new host that is "censorship-free".
Technology firms have also been making it harder for far-right groups to organise online.

This week neo-Nazi website the Daily Stormer has had its domain registration revoked twice, for violating terms of service, Reuters reports.


 

 


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Published 16 August 2017 11:39am
Updated 16 August 2017 1:36pm
By Alyssa Braithwaite

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