PayPal shuts Russian crowdfunder’s account after alt-right influx

PayPal has cut ties with a crowdfunding site after it was flooded with alt-right activists on both sides of the Atlantic.

SubscribeStar currently hosts a roster of more than 100 “stars”, consisting almost entirely of rightwing activists and pornographers.

A slew of rightwing activists began promoting SubscribeStar as their preferred crowdfunding site earlier this month after Patreon, the market leader, banned YouTuber Carl Benjamin, better known as “Sargon of Akkad”, and Milo Yiannopoulos from its site.

A Patreon spokesman said: “Sargon of Akkad was removed for his violation of hate speech in our guidelines as he deployed racial and homophobic slurs to degrade another individual. Milo Yiannopoulos was removed for violating our content guidelines with his association and support of violent organisations.”

Patreon lets fans pay a monthly stipend to support artists and activists, charging 5 per cent commission and a further 5 per cent transaction fee on all donations. SubscribeStar offers a similar service, claiming to be “free of political biases”.

SubscribeStar has actively courted individuals banned on Patreon and elsewhere, including Mr Benjamin. Founder Mikhail Zadvornyy says he hopes to provide a space for those “who want to have free and intelligent conversation without fear of being bullied, de-platformed or prosecuted”.

“After a profile is approved, we will do everything and everything to keep them with us,” he said. “We will stand up for them whatever it takes.”

A SubscribeStar spokesman said the site would temporarily stop accepting new subscribers. “We are fighting back and integrating new unbiased and predictable processors that will allow us to grow . . . Our team is working tirelessly for all of us [to be] able to secure our future without fear of being bullied by the crooks in their corporate suits and their subservient weasels.”

The site also hosts a number of softcore pornographers, including Oppai Sophia, who offers subscribers “sexy selfie packs” or “videos and GIFs” at an additional cost.

A number of “stars” also offer followers animated pornography, advertised as “18+ lewd animations”.

Mr Zadvornyy registered SubscribeStar in Wyoming, US, in August 2017, but lists his personal address as the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. He describes himself online as a front-end developer who is “passionate and successful at making things look and perform at its best”.

Mr Zadvornyy declined to comment on PayPal’s decision to shut down SubscribeStar’s account.

A PayPal spokesman said: “We carefully review accounts to ensure our services are used in line with our longstanding acceptable use policy, and take action as appropriate.”

Mr Benjamin has repeatedly denied any affiliation with the alt-right, though white supremacist Richard Spencer has described him and Mr Yiannopoulos as “great entry points” to his movement.

Controversial psychologist Jordan Peterson has publicly backed Mr Benjamin, tweeting a link to his new crowdfunding page with the caption: “You can support Sargon at the Patreon alternative SubscribeStar.”

The question [SubscribeStar is] going to need to deal with in the coming days and weeks, as it receives more publicity from the alt-right creators beginning to use it, will be where it draws the line

Rightwing writer Ian Miles Cheong, YouTuber Mark Meechan — better known as “Count Dankula” — and conspiracy theorist Mike Cernovich also told followers they were switching to SubscribeStar.

Mr Cheong, who has written articles for Mr Yiannopoulos’s Dangerous website criticising contemporary feminism and other social justice movements, said: “People are rejecting Patreon because of their broken enforcement of their terms of service. Some get banned, others don’t — for having the same content.”

Mr Cernovich — who is best known for his work on US conspiracy theory website InfoWars, and for personally promoting the “Pizzagate” conspiracy, which falsely claimed Hillary Clinton was linked to a paedophile ring at a Washington DC pizza parlour — told his 440,000 Facebook followers that SubscribeStar was the “best way to support independent media and journalism”.

Mr Meechan, who described Patreon as his “main income”, told followers he was “beginning the process of switching over to SubscribeStar”. Mr Meechan made headlines in April of this year when he was fined £800 under the Communications Act for uploading a YouTube video featuring a dog making a “Nazi salute” while he shouted “gas the Jews”.

Tim Squirrell, a PhD candidate studying alt-right online communities, said: “SubscribeStar has delineated itself from the competition by its approach to content creators, actively marketing itself as an alternative for those deplatformed by Patreon and other services.

“The question it’s going to need to deal with in the coming days and weeks, as it receives more publicity from the alt-right creators beginning to use it, will be where it draws the line.”

Mr Benjamin, Mr Cheong and Mr Meechan did not respond to requests for comment.