Banned from PayPal, Far-Right Activist Tommy Robinson Embraces Bitcoin
British political commentator Tommy Robinson has turned to crypto donations after PayPal banned him from the platform for ‘hate speech’.
British political commentator Tommy Robinson has turned to crypto donations after PayPal banned him from the platform for ‘hate speech’.
“Look at the PayPal Fascists, can’t even explain what exactly I have done that is not in line with their User agreement,” said Robinson in his post. “If you still want to support me you can do so without Paypal at www.supporttommy.com or using Bitcoin […]”
PayPal has already issued a statement regarding Robinson’s ban. “We do not allow PayPal services to be used to promote hate, violence or other forms of intolerance that is discriminatory,” reads the PayPal’s statement.
In August of this year, the British activist received $26,000 in Bitcoin donations to cover his legal expenses in a much-publicized case. The donations allowed Robinson to pay for his bail, after he was sentenced to 13 months in jail for contempt of court after live-streaming on YouTube defendants entering the court during a child sex abuse trial in Canterbury.
The Rise of ‘Deplatforming’
Subscription-based donations platform Patreon also removed a number of right-wing figures from its platform, such as Canadian filmmaker Lauren Southern. The list of organizations banned on those platforms also include the likes of Alex Jones’ InfoWars media, as well numerous anti-Islamic and alt-right sites.
One of the earliest organizations to be deplatformed from PayPal was Wikileaks, which has been banned from the platform since 2010. As an effect of the banning, Julian Assange’s media website was one of the earliest adopters of cryptocurrency, claiming to have made 50,000 percent return on investment from donations since the site first started accepting BTC.