Crowdfunding Platform Suspends QAnon Accounts
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The crowdfunding platform Buy Me a Coffee said on Monday that it had suspended all known accounts associated with QAnon figures following an investigation by Media Matters for America (MMFA).
Jijo Sunny, Buy Me a Coffee’s CEO and co-founder, said in a statement to MMFA—a media watchdog group—that the company had taken action against the accounts while emphasizing that they “strongly condemn hate groups.”
The QAnon conspiracy theory, which has since become something of a movement, has been linked by the federal government to various violent events in the United States, including the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Among the fraudulent beliefs pushed by the movement are that Democrats and celebrities are part of a global Satanic child sex-trafficking ring, as well as debunked claims regarding COVID-19 vaccines and false narratives about the 2020 presidential election being rigged against former President Donald Trump.
Media Matters senior researcher Alex Kaplan wrote on Friday that Buy Me a Coffee had become “a notable revenue stream for QAnon figures seeking to monetize their promotion of the dangerous conspiracy theory.” According to the company’s research, QAnon figures have raised more than $195,000 combined from Buy Me a Coffee before its five percent transaction fee.
Content retrieved from: https://www.newsweek.com/crowdfunding-platform-suspends-qanon-accounts-1800467.
