Over the past 20 months, as Palestinians have suffered under Israel’s increased military presence, crowdfunding websites have become one way for monetary relief to reach those in need. However, a recent Al Jazeera report claims that a number of GoFundMe pages with funds meant for Palestinians have had funds frozen or even refunded, the organizers say, without proper cause.Frozen fundsHala Sabbah, the founder of The Sameer Project, told Al Jazeera that GoFundMe refunded more than $250,000 for Palestinians that was meant for things like tents, aid, and clothing, calling the occurrence a “disaster” for the group’s organizers. Sabbah explained, per the outlet, that the page had all the necessary components and was shut down without cause.“Our GoFundMe page had daily updates with complete cost breakdowns of every single initiative we did—everything was well-documented, with receipts,” Sabbah said. “We spent weeks fighting back, and they completely ignored us, even denying us access to our donor lists.”Fast Company spoke with Lena Dajani, The Sameer Project’s cofounder, who said that, additionally, while their page was under review, GoFundMe left the fundraiser open to donations, which isn’t the typical practice, and took an unreasonable amount of time to return the funds. That amplified the organization’s challenges further when taking their cause to another platform. “It took them six months to return all donations, preventing us from recuperating what we lost by asking donors to re-give to our new fundraiser [on chuffed.org],” Dajani said.The cofounder added that when the page was taken down, it was completely unexpected, yet the platform refused to answer questions or respond about why it was removed.GoFundMe responds to allegationsFast Company reached out to GoFundMe about the incident. A representative would not speak to The Sameer Project’s specific case for privacy reasons, or say how much money to Palestinian causes has been frozen to date, but adamantly denied that the site is withholding funds meant for Palestinians, calling those allegations “categorically false.”The representative said, in a written statement, “At GoFundMe, our top priority is being a trusted platform where people can help each other. Since October 2023, hundreds of millions of dollars have been raised on our platform and distributed to individuals and organizations to help people impacted by the conflict, and our Trust & Safety team continues to carefully review fundraisers and work closely with fundraiser organizers to ensure funds are delivered as safely and quickly as possible.”GoFundMe has been extraordinarily busy in recent years as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has grown more desperate, and with that, comes an uptick in scammers. Fundraising organizations have to be extra mindful that funds are being raised for the parties the fundraisers claim and that it can get to the recipient. If they don’t do due diligence, they could face legal action, or an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).In the wake of the Trump era, when even free speech in reference to Palestine has been penalized, the platform may be exercising extra caution around potential scammers, which, sadly, are often plentiful in times of crisis. According to GoFundMe’s “Giving Guarantee,” which ensures refunds for fraudulent campaigns, it has to refund campaigns that don’t meet its criteria.According to GoFundMe’s representative, fundraising sites have to comply with international laws and global financial regulations, plus the site’s own Terms of Service, as well as the requirements of its payment processor. “Apart from relevant consumer protections, we are bound by global sanctions regulations, as well as requirements from the financial services industry to verify the identities of our ultimate beneficiaries,” the representative explained. “Failure to uphold our high standard of diligence and adequately protect our platform and customers could result in investigations and regulatory enforcement, and interruption of services by our financial partners.”Last year, as complaints about frozen funds for Palestine emerged on social media—with some using the hashtag #releasethefunds and claiming a double standard when funds were meant for Gaza—the platform addressed the uproar with a question-and-answer page, where the site laid out the grounds for fundraiser removal. That criteria included: “Any support for armed conflict, regardless of the country, which includes funding weapons, any supplies to soldiers, territorial defense forces” or “Travel to any location to support military or territorial defense, except as required by a national government,” as well as pages that violate GoFundMe’s terms of service or its processing partners’ terms of service.Technical difficultiesNot everyone is convinced that the double standard exists. Janet Miller is a tech writer who has successfully helped a number of people with frozen fundraising pages for Palestine to unfreeze them. She started helping in this way after connecting with a man and his family whose fundraiser had been picked for a program that matches Gaza fundraisers with influencers. “Mohammed’s was chosen by a writer named Sim Kern, and it quickly raised close to $100,000,” Miller told Fast Company in an email. The funds were meant to help Mohammed and his family flee the area. But then, the fundraiser was frozen by GoFundMe. Miller’s tech writing experience helped her to quickly understand the issue and once she sent in the proper documentation, the funds were released, but the pause had happened at a critical time. “They quickly unfroze the funds, but by that time the Rafah gate had closed. There was no longer a way to exit the country,” Miller explained.However, after helping one family, more people began to seek Miller out to help with their GoFundMe accounts. Each time she had access to the proper documentation, she was successful in ensuring the funds were released. “The main issue was that they didn’t think through how to get the funds to the beneficiaries, which is a major hurdle for Gaza,” Miller explained. “I think they have one ATM machine left in the country. PayPal charges something like 25% in fees, and now most U.S. banks won’t allow transfers to the Bank of Palestine. Many people in Gaza don’t even have bank accounts, so they have to depend on Western Union. A lot of people use foreign brokers, which means that GoFundMe then has to email the beneficiaries to confirm that they really did receive the funds.”Miller added that the multistep process is complicated, especially as internet connectivity in Palestine is waning. “GoFundMe does include instructions on their website, but those are a little bit buried. And you have to gather a lot of information from the beneficiaries, who give hurried answers in the few minutes in the day that they have Wi-Fi.”Other fundraisers face similar challengesStill, Al Jazeera reported that other pages had been shuttered, too. And dozens of videos can be found on TikTok recounting similar occurrences of having funding pages unexpectedly frozen. User @MerryFets documented the experience of having funds for Gazans frozen and asked followers to apply pressure to GoFundMe. The user’s followers did just that, reaching out directly and tagging GoFundMe on social media, and in a follow up post, @MerryFets announced that the crowdfunding site had released the funds.“We don’t want to accuse GoFundMe of anything,” the user says in her video, while also pointing out that the page in question was run by a Palestinian-American. “They chose to freeze her funds, but not any of the fundraisers we’ve had run by white, blonde women,” the user shared.But in some cases, even U.S. projects seeking to raise awareness about the situation in Gaza have been subjected to lengthy and frustrating review processes that the organizers feel is unique. Poppy Liu, an actor and activist, started a GoFundMe page in support of another project, which aimed to create truck billboards to raise awareness about the humanitarian crisis. The page quickly hit its goal, but then was unexpectedly frozen by GoFundMe. Lui said it felt “incredibly apparent that this is part of a national trend of censoring anything that talks about Palestine,” when speaking to The Verge last year. “It feels explicitly racist. It feels anti-Arab,” the activist said.In Lui’s case, the freeze was eventually lifted after complying with multiple requests for additional information, as well as demonstrating where the funds were going (to a U.S.-based project). However, Lui claimed that she’s used the platform many times before and has never run into anything like what happened with the billboard campaign. “I’ve never had an issue before and I’ve fundraised for things that were not even registered 501(c)s,” Liu said.Fast Company also spoke to Katherine Llewellyn, another GoFundMe user with a page devoted to Palestine, who said that while there were a ton of hoops to jump through, such as providing many verification documents, she hasn’t encountered any issues on the platform. “The harder thing for me has been getting funds raised into Gaza after they make it to my account,” she said. The user had to switch methods multiple times due to roadblocks as the destruction mounted. At present, the fundraiser uses cryptocurrency, which she says “in Gaza converts into cash via a broker who takes approximately 30% off the top.”PayPal also under fireGoFundMe is not the only site that has been accused of blocking funds to Palestine. PayPal has been met with harsh criticism because the financial site actually does clearly disallow their services to Palestinians, while Israelis living in the same areas have access, and Apple Pay, PayPal’s biggest competitor, serves Palestinians.In 2023, 7amleh, The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media, along with members of Congress, sent a letter to PayPal, urging the company to open services to Palestinians, calling the blocking of services “discriminatory.” 7amleh explained, “Denying Palestinians access to PayPal’s services affects the Palestinians’ rights to access livelihood and work opportunities and participate in the development of their economy.”It continued, “Furthermore, Mastercard, Visa, Swift, and Apple Pay have all entered the Palestinian market with no problems, so there does not seem to be any foreseeable barriers to entry for PayPal.” The group also launched a petition on the matter, which was signed by nearly 283,000 people, including actor and activist Mark Ruffalo.Fast Company reached out to PayPal for comment but did not hear back by the time of publication. Alternative platforms ease the burdenAlthough GoFundMe asserts that it is not discriminating against Palestinian causes, other fundraising sites appear to be managing donations for the area without issue. Dajani said that the fundraising platform Chuffed.org, the site The Sameer Project moved to, has been a better experience. It’s hard to say why the site isn’t running into the same issues as GoFundMe, and Chuffed didn’t respond to a Fast Company inquiry. However, the site is based in Australia, which makes it less of a target for American lawmakers. The site frequently features Gaza fundraisers on its main page. At present, it is highlighting fundraising for activists Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk, aid funds for Palestine, and more. In its list of featured causes, also visible on the main page, Palestine is listed first. Like many American institutions, GoFundMe doesn’t advertise support for Palestinian causes on its main page, perhaps in an effort to remain neutral. GoFundMe maintains that its policies are applied fairly and with the intent to keep users safe, although the experiences of some organizers raising money for Palestinian causes highlight the complexities of online fundraising during international crises. As the situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate, ensuring that legitimate humanitarian campaigns can operate smoothly remains a challenge for platforms, donors, and aid organizations alike.
Face aux tensions accrues et à la crise humanitaire qui perdure en Palestine, le rôle des plateformes de financement participatif s’avère crucial pour l’acheminement de l’aide financière. Toutefois, l’efficacité de ces canaux est remise en cause par des incidents où les fonds destinés aux Palestiniens sont gelés ou remboursés sans explication apparente. Cette situation soulève des questions non seulement sur les pratiques des plateformes comme GoFundMe, mais aussi sur les implications plus larges en termes économiques, financiers et géopolitiques.
Le défi des plateformes de financement participatif
Depuis vingt mois, les tensions en Palestine se sont intensifiées, notamment sous l’effet d’une présence militaire israélienne accrue. Dans ce contexte, les plateformes de crowdfunding sont devenues des outils indispensables pour lever des fonds nécessaires à l’achat de tentes, de vêtements et d’autres éléments de première nécessité pour les populations touchées. Or, des rapports récents indiquent que plusieurs levées de fonds sur GoFundMe ont rencontré des obstacles inattendus, avec des fonds gelés ou remboursés sans justification.
Hala Sabbah, fondatrice du projet Sameer, a exprimé sa frustration lors d’une interview avec Al Jazeera, expliquant que plus de 250 000 dollars destinés à des projets humanitaires ont été retournés aux donateurs. Malgré une documentation minutieuse et des mises à jour régulières, la page de levée de fonds de Sabbah a été fermée, privant leur cause d’une aide cruciale.
La réponse des plateformes face à la fraude
Les plateformes de financement participatif comme GoFundMe doivent naviguer dans un contexte complexe de régulations financières internationales, de sanctions mondiales et d’une vigilance accrue face aux potentielles fraudes. La nécessité de garantir que les fonds arrivent aux destinataires légitimes complique encore davantage la mission de ces plateformes. GoFundMe, dans une déclaration écrite, a souligné son engagement à être une plateforme de confiance tout en niant catégoriquement les accusations de discrimination envers les causes palestiniennes.
Cette situation révèle un dilemme pour des plateformes telles que GoFundMe, qui doivent concilier transparence, efficacité et respect de la législation internationale. Le discours de certaines organisations soulève néanmoins une question fondamentale : existe-t-il un traitement différencié pour les levées de fonds relatives à la Palestine par rapport à d’autres causes humanitaires ?
Les implications géopolitiques et sociales
La complexité de la situation découle également de facteurs géopolitiques sous-jacents. En période de crise, les tensions politiques et ethniques exacerbées peuvent influencer involontairement la disponibilité des services financiers. Par exemple, la restriction des services de PayPal pour les résidents palestiniens, malgré l’accès pour les habitants israéliens des mêmes zones, a suscité des accusations de discrimination, mettant en lumière une dynamique géopolitique plus large où l’accès inégal aux services financiers reflète les disparités entre les deux peuples.
Dans ce contexte, la voix de défenseurs et d’activistes, relayée par des initiatives comme celles de l’actrice Poppy Liu, soulève une interrogation sur la suppression progressive de la liberté d’expression concernant le sujet palestinien en ligne. Cette surveillance accrue pourrait-elle se renforcer à l’avenir, diminuant la capacité de commenter librement les crises humanitaires ?
Perspectives d’avenir pour le financement participatif
Face aux complications rencontrées sur GoFundMe, des alternatives telles que Chuffed.org ont émergé, apparemment avec moins de contraintes. Cette plateforme australienne, en étant en dehors du radar direct des législateurs américains, pourrait offrir un espace plus ouvert pour des initiatives de financement en faveur des causes palestiniennes. Néanmoins, un risque persiste : les plateformes non américaines pourraient elles aussi subir des pressions étrangères, réduisant à long terme le champ d’action pour la collecte de fonds dédiée à des zones politiquement sensibles.
La question qui mérite réflexion est de savoir comment ces plateformes peuvent renforcer leur rôle tout en respectant les exigences légales et en assurant une distribution équitable des fonds. Les solutions pourraient inclure l’amélioration des protocoles de vérification et la sensibilisation accrue des utilisateurs aux exigences documentaires nécessaires pour garantir la bonne transmission des fonds.
Résumé des enjeux et ouverture
Tandis que la situation à Gaza reste critique, les défis structurels, qu’ils soient technologiques ou géopolitiques, persistent. Pour les plateformes de crowdfunding, l’enjeu est d’assurer leur rôle de facilitateur essentiel dans la redistribution des ressources tout en naviguant dans un paysage d’obligations légales et éthiques complexes. Une coopération renforcée avec des organisations humanitaires certifiées et une adaptation des stratégies de vérification pourraient atténuer les obstacles actuels, assurant ainsi que les efforts de collecte de fonds atteignent leur pleine efficacité. Dans les mois et années à venir, l’évolution des politiques et technologies financières déterminera en grande partie la capacité d’atténuer ces crises humanitaires persistantes.
Source : Fast Company
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