PayPal and ADL Partner to Disrupt ‘Financial Pipelines’ Used For Extremism and Hate, Protect Marginalized Groups
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PayPal and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) announced on Monday a new partnership aimed at identifying extremism, racism, and hate, and eventually to undertake the task of disrupting transactions and “financial pipelines” used to fund them.
The partnership will be led by the ADL’s Center on Extremism, known for its interactive H.E.A.T Map (Hate, Extremism, Anti-Semitism, Terrorism), and focus on “uncovering and disrupting the financial pipelines that support extremist and hate movements.”
The effort begins with research into the ways identified groups or movements use financial platforms, and the data collected will be shared with companies in the financial and tech sectors as well as with “policymakers and law enforcement.” The announcement says they will share “trends in extremism and hate” with civili rights organizations and marginalized communities.
“We have a unique opportunity to further understand how hate spreads and develop key insights that will inform the efforts of the financial industry, law enforcement, and our communities in mitigating extremist threats,” said ADL head Jonathan Greenblatt.
From the statement:
Core to the PayPal and ADL initiative is the establishment and expansion of a coalition with other civil rights partner organizations, such as the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), to protect marginalized communities against extremism. PayPal and ADL will work closely with these organizations to share trends in extremism and hate with marginalized and vulnerable communities with the goal of helping to empower and safeguard those communities which are frequently targets of hate groups and extremist acts.
Greenblatt and the ADL shared the announcement on Twitter.
Thrilled to announce @ADL’s new partnership to fight extremism with @PayPal. Together, we’ll work with civil rights and other partner orgs to empower & safeguard vulnerable communities – sharing research with policymakers and those in positions of action to keep communities safe. https://t.co/qtHp4vIBLz
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) July 26, 2021
In addition to tracking the funding of extremist groups and their actions, the announcement says the project will look into “actors and networks spreading and profiting from all forms of hate and bigotry against any community.” This statement seems to cover a wide range of possible infractions.
PayPal has previously cut off accounts and funding related to extremism or actions or speech deemed hateful, as in the case of the far right social media website Gab and groups that raised money for trips to D.C. on January 6, including the Christian crowdfunding website GiveSendGo.
