Gofundme freezes Grayzone fundraiser 'due to some external concerns' (thegrayzone.com)

submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by birdcat@lemmy.ml to c/worldnews@lemmy.ml

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The Grayzone raises over $90,000 for 3 independent journalists.
Gofundme freezes the funds.
British Counter-Terror Police detains journalist Kit Klarenberg and interrogates him for 5 hours about his political views and reporting.

The West sure loves its press freedom™ huh?

Edit: Thanks for the valuable discussion, I didn't plan to donate anything cuz I also have my reservations towards the Grayzone. But you guys really showed me that I should probably do it anyway 😅

Here is the link if you want to donate too.

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[-] rikudou@lemmings.world 22 points 10 months ago

Since 2014, when a US-backed coup installed a nationalist government in Kiev, our contributors have been at the forefront of exposing the role of Washington in pushing Ukraine toward all-out war with Russia.

I think I found the reason. The press is free to report whatever it wants, though! And gofundme is free to withdraw funds.

See, freedom means that everyone can do whatever they want as long as they abide by law. Grayzone is free to spread their lies, gofundme is free to not support those lies. No one is banning Grayzone, it's just pretty much everyone decided they don't want to deal with it, which they're free to.

To answer your question, yes, we sure do love our freedom, press or otherwise!

[-] birdcat@lemmy.ml -3 points 10 months ago

The money didn't come from Gofundme, it came from private donors, who have not been notified or refunded so far.

If freedom of the press is loved, why is it made extra difficult to support the independent media of your choice?

People donated to that site because they probably view the information it provides as valuable.

It's fine if you think the Grayzone is shit, no one will force you to read it, but please be aware that you accept authoritarianism when it suits your bias and political beliefs. Not even questioning the reasons for the withholding? Do you just think the boss or some random person of Gofundme spontaneously thought "Nah, not those guys, not today" then froze the 90k? Not even questioning how a journalist ends up on a list of the UK Counter-Terror Police?

And btw, dismissing journalistic work when it proves that you've been told lies does not make you a critical thinker, it just makes you a victim of propaganda, all the best 😘