- The Pittsburgh shooter reportedly used Gab to spread hatred online
- Gab does not agree that hate posts translate to violence
- PayPal and other websites are investigating the matter to see if the social network performed a breach of its policies
Online payments brand PayPal just banned Gab, a social network that describes itself as a place for free speech, for letting the Pittsburgh shooter post his anti-Semitic comments. The shooter went inside a Tree of Life synagogue and killed eleven people. According to reports, the gunman’s last post on Gab was: “Screw your optics, I'm going in."
While the PayPal ban has not yet been announced officially, this is very “likely” says Gab. The brand that owns international money transfer service Xoom also banned a right wing website recently for spreading hate speech. Payment processing specialist Stripe also restricted Gab, effectively banning them on their platforms, reports say.
Aside from money transfer services, other companies are also reportedly banning the social network. In a statement published on The Verge, web hosting site GoDaddy said: “We have informed Gab.com that they have 24 hours to move the domain to another provider, as they have violated our terms of service. In response to complaints received over the weekend, GoDaddy investigated and discovered numerous instances of content on the site that both promotes and encourages violence against people."
It is not just PayPal who is now considered notorious for banning access to sites that spread hatred and encourage violence in general, GoDaddy has been quite active as well as it also restricted The Daily Stormer from using its services. The Daily Stormer is an American white nationalist website.
According to Gab, its personnel are “working around the clock” to get back online, but the social network insisted that it “took the site down on purpose” because its management knew that the media will “take the bait”. While PayPal has not yet arrived at a decision, it told multiple publications in the US that the company "has been closely monitoring Gab and was in the process of canceling the site's account before the tragic events occurred”. Stripe is also doing its own investigation, reports say.
Gab told the media that it has been working with the DOJ and the FBI but reiterated that hateful posts do not translate to violence.
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