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PayPal hit so hard for removing conservative sites that it changed its mind to avoid boycott

August 23, 2017 | | Print Article

PayPal has backtracked amid public backlash it received for banning some conservative websites from utilizing its payment platform.

The American Freedom Defense Initiative and Jihad Watch initially had their account banned because they were labelled as “hate sites” by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

On Monday, Jihad Watch shared an email it received informing it that its account had been reinstated.

Dear Jihad Watch:

Effective 08/21/2017, the limitation applied to your account associated with https://www.jihadwatch.org pursuant to our User Agreement was removed. Your services are being reinstated.

PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy in our User Agreement prohibits individuals and groups from using PayPal for activities that promote hate, violence, or racial intolerance. If we become aware of a website or organization using our services that may violate our polices, our dedicated team of professionals conducts a thorough review. Ultimately, a decision is made and communicated to the organization. In this instance, we have made the determination to lift the limitation applied to your account associated with the Acceptable Use Policy.

Sincerely,
Benjamin
PayPal Brand Risk Management
PayPal

Jihad Watch director Robert Spencer declared it a victory but vowed he would not use the payment service again.

“PayPal was inundated with complaints and cancellations of accounts from people who understand that my work is not “hateful,” and that it is not hate to oppose jihad terror and Sharia oppression,” he told the Daily Caller. “And so they suddenly decided I wasn’t a ‘hate group’ after all.”

Spencer told the Caller that PayPal did not conduct an investigation but, rather, caved to pressure from a ProPubica hit piece on the website.

ProPublica is funded by george Soros but it claims to be an “independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest,” according to the Caller.

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“They never made a ‘thorough review’ of Jihad Watch either when they banned it or when they restored it,” Spencer said. “They just blow with the wind. And this isn’t over: the Left knows this, and will blow harder. We will have to fight hard to retain our freedoms.”

PayPal’s change of mind came after a #BoycottPayPal campaign was launched on social media, led by anti-radical Islam activist Pamela Geller, who was also banned.

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