Convoy raises $2M as GoFundMe ratings plummet, faces scrutiny
The 2022 Freedom Convoy truckers have already raised $2 million after their campaign was shut down by GoFundMe. The convoy has moved to another crowdfunding site and, as of this report, has already raised $2.3 million on GiveSendGo.
GoFundMe justified freezing the C$10 million raised by citing “evidence” of “violence”, which they have yet to provide.
The left-wing crowdfunding giant had first announced that it was going to take the money given by millions of supporters to the truckers and re-purpose it for a charity of their choosing. But after intense backlash, including several attorneys general promising to investigate the company, they agreed to refund all the money back to the donors.
The backlash has not let up, however.
“I still want to hear from you if you donated,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost tweeted to Ohio residents. “This needs to not happen again! It is deeply troubling to me that a professional fundraiser like #GoFundMe thought they had a right to take donations they are holding in trust and simply “redirect” them. We are going to get to the bottom of this.”
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody also weighed in: “I’m sick and tired of corporations imposing their political will on unsuspecting consumers,” she said. “As always, I will work with @GovRonDeSantis to ensure Floridians are protected.”
Elon Musk, who had also donated an undisclosed sum to the convoy’s GoFundMe campaign slammed the company on Twitter. Responding to a tweet suggesting that he get his money back, Musk replied “It’s not my money.” The world’s richest man then tweeted a graphic referring to GoFundMe as “professional thieves”.
Soon after, Musk tweeted again, this time a screenshot showing a GoFundMe campaign by the Capital Hill Occupied Protests (CHOP) in 2020, which was an operation by terror group Antifa, and asked, “Double-standard?”
GoFundMe’s ratings have also taken a nosedive. The company’s rating on TrustPilot went from 4.5 stars to 3.4 stars in a matter of hours, and the company has received so many negative reviews that TrustPilot has since paused GoFundMe’s profile, with the following notice:
“GoFundMe's profile page on Trustpilot has been temporarily suspended while we investigate an unusual increase in reviews related to recent media attention. Although we understand you want to voice your opinion about things in the news and issues trending on social media, Trustpilot is a place for feedback based on genuine buying and service experiences. The page will be reinstated following our investigation, and any reviews that do not relate to a genuine experience will be removed. Due to the significant influx of reviews we cannot guarantee that reviews provide a genuine representation of the business.”
Some of the reviews include:
“I have given to many causes over the years through gofundme… blindly believing the money would go to the intended cause. Now that they have clearly shown they are fraudsters, I will never use their platform again.” - Sue
“Going along with the governments corruption! Freedom fighters in Ottawa fairly raised that money. You and the government took it away from them” - Some Guy
“Gfm has proven themselves to be manipulated and controlled by polical interference based on lies. They refuse to payout to a legitimate peaceful protest while happily funding illegal occupation in BC and left wing riotors like BLM. Never again.” - Linda Orr
“HONK HONK YOU THIEVES” - Lauren
“My donation was to support the truckers and you ended the donation page saying lies about them not respecting your terms. You then say you will donate these donations to charities. You are thieves” - Claude Champagne
The company’s rating on ConsumerAffairs.com has also plunged to 3.0 stars as of this report.
