By Guest Post. Originally published at ValueWalk.
FWIW a “racial justice group” wants to force Credit Card makers to boycott so called White Supremacist groups and so called hate groups – who will they target next? – see their press release below
Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and AmEx process funds for over 100 hate groups
NEW YORK—Major credit card companies are helping white supremacist hate sites raise tens of millions of dollars, according to racial justice organization Color Of Change. Today Color Of Change launched Blood Money, a website calling out Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express for processing funds for groups that have inspired hate crimes and organized events like the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville. Color Of Change has been engaging these companies for months, demanding that they cut their ties with hate groups. But, to date, these companies have declined to stop providing services for white supremacists like those responsible for the violence in Charlottesville.
“Without the financial services provided by companies like Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express, the terrorism and violence we saw in Charlottesville would not have happened,” said Rashad Robinson, Executive Director of Color Of Change. “White supremacists need money to pay for events like ‘Unite the Right’ and to maintain propaganda websites likes the ones that inspired terrorists Dylann Roof and Timothy McVeigh. For months, we’ve been urging these companies to do the right thing and stop providing financial services for white supremacist groups. But, so far, they are making a conscious choice to let their products provide the financial fuel that makes white supremacist terrorism possible. They are making hundreds of thousands of dollars from processing fees for these racist groups and quite literally profiting off hate and murder.”
On the Blood Money website, Color Of Change lists out the more than 100 hate groups for which these payment processing companies provide financial services. These groups have raised tens of millions of dollars thanks to credit card donations facilitated by these processing companies. Companies take a commission on each transaction they facilitate, ranging from 1.4 to 3.5 percent.
Some payment processing companies have taken a few steps to sever ties with white supremacist groups. PayPal, for example, has been responsive to conversations with Color Of Change and has stopped working with some, though not all, white supremacist websites, including that run by Jason Kessler, the organizer of the Charlottesville rally.
“We’ve been working directly with PayPal for months to cut off a number of hate groups that they allowed for years to generate revenue using their platform,” said Robinson. “We appreciate the company’s willingness to take stand against violent racist extremism after months of pressure, and we hope to push them further.”
#NoBloodMoney is part of a broader effort by Color Of Change to stop white supremacist hate mongering in the wake of Charlottesville that has also included calling on Eventbrite to stop hosting white supremacist events and for podcast platforms to stop hosting hate site podcasts. Since Charlottesville, Color Of Change has also called for all Confederate statues to come down, for Congress to demand Donald Trump fire Steve Bannon, for corporate executives to leave Trump’s business councils, and for North Carolina legislators to reject a law that protects drivers who hit protesters.
See more about #NoBloodMoney at: www.bloodmoney.org
The post “Racial Justice Group” Outs Credit Card Companies That Support “White Supremacists” appeared first on ValueWalk.
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