More than a million dollars were raised in 24 hours for the “freedom convoy” in Ottawa, on GiveSendGo, a crowdfunding platform associated with the American far right.
• Read also: “Freedom convoy”: Canadian cities invaded by protesters
• Read also: “Freedom convoy” in Ottawa: GoFundMe officially cuts funds to protesters
• Read also: [EN DIRECT] “Freedom convoy” this weekend: everything you need to know about the demonstrations in Quebec and Ottawa
A convoy-related campaign in Ottawa has appeared on the “#1 free Christian crowdfunding site,” after popular platform GoFundMe banned fundraising of more than $10 million on Friday.
She then found herself in violation of the website’s terms of use, which notably prohibit “the promotion of violence and harassment”.
Quick funding
On GiveSendGo, the new fundraiser has so far raised US$1.2 million. His goal is to raise 16 million.
On Saturday, the company congratulated itself on having managed to raise funds five times faster than the GoFundMe platform, despite computer problems.
The “Adopt-a-Trucker” movement, initiated by a certain group called Warroom Canada, also has an active campaign on the Boston-based platform. Over US$300,000 was raised in two weeks.
“Their ability to attract such large donations is impressive. […] There are networks that are much more structured than the chaotic image they project,” notes Marcos Ancelovici, holder of the Canada Research Chair in the Sociology of Social Conflict.
The platform rose to popularity in 2020 when it hosted a crowdfunding campaign to pay legal fees for Kyle Rittenhouse, who killed two people during a 2020 anti-racism protest in Wisconsin. He has since been acquitted of murders.
It also hosted fundraisers related to the assault on the Capitol in January 2021, including one from the Proud Boys, a far-right organization designated as terrorist in Canada, who wanted to acquire protective and communication equipment. for the occasion.
Other Strategies
“There are always ways to transfer funds. As it is not marked out by a charitable organization and that we are not in the rules which frame this management, it can be the wild west”, mentions Daniel Lanteigne, president of the Association of professionals in philanthropy, Quebec section.
More than 2,500 people have helped finance the convoy by participating in a bitcoin fundraiser, which has raised nearly $157,000 so far.
Many calls for donations by bank transfer are also made in parallel on social networks.
A Quebecer, for example, asks Internet users to finance inflatable games activities for children on site.
– With Nora T. Lamontagne and Anne-Caroline Desplanques