PayPal Bans Conservative Sites After Soros-Funded Group Attacks Them

Daily Caller

PayPal banned Jihad Watch and the American Freedom Defense Initiative from receiving online donations using their platform because of the site’s “activities” after being designated as “hate sites” by left-wing groups.

Jihad Watch was reportedly banned from PayPal on Saturday after ProPublica – a George Soros funded investigative group – targeted the site and its director Robert Spencer (not to be confused with white nationalist Richard Spencer) in a hit piece that claimed the site was guilty of “extreme hostility toward Muslims.”

The assault on Jihad Watch began on Friday when Spencer received an emailthat he described as a “threatening” from ProPublica journalist Lauren Kirchner.

The email informed Spencer that she was including his site among a list of hate sites identified as such by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) – both widely considered to be left-leaning organizations.

The purpose of the hit piece published by ProPublica was clear: put pressure on tech companies that offer their platforms to sites that it deems as “hate sites.”

ProPublica specifically called out Amazon, PayPal, and Newsmax for maintaining partnerships with Jihad Watch. Hours after the outlet published its hit piece, Spencer received the following email from PayPal:

RE: Notice of PayPal Account Limitation 

Dear Robert Spencer,

We have recently reviewed your usage of PayPal’s services, as reflected inour records and on your website https://www.jihadwatch.org. Due to thenature of your activities, we have chosen to discontinue service to you inaccordance with PayPal’s User Agreement. As a result, we have placed apermanent limitation on your account.

We ask that you please remove all references to PayPal from your website.This includes removing PayPal as a payment option, as well as the PayPallogo and/or shopping cart. 

If you have a remaining balance, you may withdraw the money to your bankaccount. Information on how to withdraw money from your PayPal account canbe found via our Help Center.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation. If you have any questions orneed our support, please contact the PayPal Brand Risk ManagementDepartment at aup@paypal.com.

Sincerely,RonitaPayPal Brand Risk ManagementPayPal

PayPal notified Pamela Geller’s American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) on Monday that it was banning her site from its platform in a nearly identical emaillike the one received by Jihad Watch.

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Photo: Getty Images


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