{"id":211048,"date":"2022-05-09T12:00:04","date_gmt":"2022-05-09T11:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=211048"},"modified":"2022-05-07T04:36:07","modified_gmt":"2022-05-07T03:36:07","slug":"the-curious-case-of-paypal-and-consortium-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2022\/05\/the-curious-case-of-paypal-and-consortium-news\/","title":{"rendered":"The Curious Case of PayPal and Consortium News"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote><p>3 May 2022 &#8211; <em>The independent news website has been banned from taking donations on PayPal without so much as an explanation. The reason might be as simple as it is chilling. <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div id=\"attachment_211049\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/paypal.webp\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-211049\" class=\"wp-image-211049\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/paypal-300x225.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/paypal-300x225.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/paypal-768x576.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/paypal.webp 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-211049\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">[Diverse Stock Photos \/ CC BY-NC 2.0]<\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><em>Editor\u2019s Note: PayPal has now relented on keeping Consortium News\u2019 funds, but it continues to ban new donations.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">PayPal on Sunday <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/consortiumnews.com\/2022\/05\/01\/paypal-cancels-cn-account-may-seize-balance\/\" >canceled the account<\/a> of independent news source Consortium News and, at least temporarily, seized its funds.\u00a0 PayPal gave no warning or reason for the action, there was no due process or appeal, and it indicated that it would decide sometime in the next six months if the nearly $10,000 account balance would be released.\u00a0 PayPal took the action on the first day of Consortium News\u2019s biannual fundraising drive.<\/p>\n<p>Consortium News is one of the country\u2019s most highly-respected independent news sources.\u00a0 It was founded in 1995 by journalist <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/01\/29\/obituaries\/robert-parry-investigative-reporter-dies.html\" >Robert Parry<\/a>, who gained fame at the Associated Press, and later at Newsweek, for his role in uncovering the Iran-Contra affair and for breaking the story of CIA involvement in Contra cocaine trafficking.\u00a0 Parry was a winner of the prestigious George Polk Award for National Reporting and of the I. F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence, bestowed by Harvard University\u2019s Neiman Foundation.<\/p>\n<p>Its board of directors includes Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges, foreign policy author Diana Johnstone, Black Agenda Report editor Margaret Kimberley, political consultant Garland Nixon, United Nations Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe communications director Nat Parry, documentary filmmaker John Pilger, award-winning investigative journalist Gareth Porter, producer and Academy Award nominee Julie Bergman Sender, 2012 Green Party presidential nominee Dr. Jill Stein, and this author.<\/p>\n<p>PayPal\u2019s action comes just days after it suspended the accounts of independent news outlet <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mintpressnews.com\/\" >MintPressNews<\/a> and journalist Caleb Maupin. Again, no reasons were given, and PayPal confiscated their funds.<\/p>\n<p>Consortium News\u2019 editor-in-chief, Joe Lauria, an author and former journalist with the Boston Globe, the Wall Street Journal, and the Times of London, said that PayPal sent him an email on Sunday saying, \u201cYou can\u2019t use PayPal anymore. At PayPal, we value a safe community for our customers to do business.\u00a0 We noticed activity in your account that\u2019s inconsistent with our User Agreement and we no longer offer you PayPal services.\u201d The email went on to discuss the seizure of funds, saying, \u201cIf there was a violation, it is possible the money could be kept as damage to PayPal.\u00a0 Violations under the Restricted Activities of the User Agreement include providing false, inaccurate or misleading information to PayPal, other PayPal customers, or third parties.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>PayPal was <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2022-01-13\/paypal-sued-for-freezing-customer-accounts-without-explanation?sref=10lNAhZ9\" >sued in California<\/a> in January under federal racketeering laws for freezing customer money and refusing to provide an explanation. Bloomberg reported at the time that, \u201cTwo California residents and a Chicago businessman claim in the lawsuit that PayPal\u2019s hold on the money amounts to an unlawful seizure. The three plaintiffs are proposing a class-action lawsuit on behalf of all account holders who have had their money placed on hold.\u201d World Series of Poker winner Chris Moneymaker, who had $12,000 seized by PayPal, tweeted in January:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Anyone else that got funds confiscated by <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PayPal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >@PayPal<\/a> feel free to reach out to my lawyers whom are starting a class action suit <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/eHy2IKPIqX\" >https:\/\/t.co\/eHy2IKPIqX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Chris Moneymaker \u2b55 (@CMONEYMAKER) <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CMONEYMAKER\/status\/1397955421537714176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >May 27, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Just ten days after the tweet, PayPal returned Moneymaker\u2019s funds.\u00a0 But the California suit continues.<\/p>\n<p>Why would PayPal take action like this against Consortium News?\u00a0 The only explanation those involved in the publication can think of is that it\u2019s a result of the hysteria over the Ukraine war.\u00a0 The site has questioned the wisdom of unbridled US support for the war, and has published recent articles entitled \u201c<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/consortiumnews.com\/2022\/04\/28\/caitlin-johnstone-being-anti-war-isnt-easy\/\" >Being Anti-War Isn\u2019t Easy<\/a>, \u201c<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/consortiumnews.com\/2022\/04\/25\/us-makes-it-clear-its-aim-is-to-weaken-russia\/\" >US Makes Clear Its Aim Is to Weaken Russia<\/a>,\u201d and \u201c<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/consortiumnews.com\/2022\/04\/27\/patrick-lawrence-ukraine-the-strength-of-nonalignment\/\" >Ukraine &amp; the Strength of Nonalignment<\/a>.\u201d Is it as simple as that?\u00a0 Silicon Valley won\u2019t stand for an alternative view on the war?\u00a0 That\u2019s the common thread between Consortium News, MintPress News, and Caleb Maupin. They\u2019re all anti-war. Meanwhile, the mainstream media, with the possible occasional exception of Fox News, couldn\u2019t be any more pro-war.<\/p>\n<p>Consortium News is now paralyzed. It will have to take to the courts for justice and to recover its funding. It\u2019s going to be a tough fight against a rich corporate giant. But it\u2019s the principle of the thing. Independent voices must be heard. Freedom of speech and press were among the basic tenets upon which this country was founded. We should all be willing to fight to keep those freedoms.<\/p>\n<p>__________________________________________<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/John-kiriakou.jpeg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-177314\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/John-kiriakou.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a> John Kiriakou was a CIA analyst and case officer from 1990 to 2004. In December 2007, John was the first U.S. government official to confirm that waterboarding was used to interrogate al-Qaeda prisoners, a practice he described as torture. While employed with the CIA, he refused to be trained in so-called \u201cenhanced interrogation techniques,\u201d nor did he ever authorize or engage in such crimes. Kiriakou is the sole CIA agent to go to jail in connection with the U.S. torture program, despite the fact that he never tortured anyone. Rather, he blew the whistle on this horrific wrongdoing. John can be reached at: <a href=\"mailto:jkiriakou@mac.com\">jkiriakou@mac.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/scheerpost.com\/2022\/05\/03\/john-kiriakou-the-curious-case-of-paypal-and-consortium-news\/\" >Go to Original &#8211; scheerpost.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>3 May 2022 &#8211; The independent news website has been banned from taking donations on PayPal without so much as an explanation. The reason might be as simple as it is chilling. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":211049,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[2375,867,1785,550,651,2571,2842,70],"class_list":["post-211048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media","tag-alternative-media","tag-anglo-america","tag-censorship","tag-corruption","tag-justice","tag-official-lies-and-narratives","tag-paypal","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211048\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}