Patreon bans alt-right content creators from earning money on its platform
Patreon, the subscription content service that allows people to receive donations directly from their audience, has taken a major stance against alt-right and far right content creators.
After banning Milo Yiannopoulos from using its platform to fund a "magnificent 2019 comeback," Patreon also banned British conspiracy theorist Carl Benjamin for... well, you probably know: being a scumbag human. James Allsup, a far right political commentator, was hit with a ban as well.
That makes three bans in a week.
Benjamin, who goes by Sargon of Akkad on YouTube, is the latest alt-right content creator to get banned from an online platform for spreading his lies and racist commentary, according to Vice News.
Without Patreon, Benjamin will not be able to receive donations from his fans. He was reportedly earning as much as $12,000 per month from the platform.
Yiannopoulos is perhaps the most well-known alt-right figure to get de-platformed from yet another service. He was banned from his biggest platform, Twitter, in 2016.
However, despite Facebook's attempts to purge fake news and racist commentary, Yiannopoulos remains unbanned from Zuckerberg's social network. Similarly, Yiannopoulos has not been banned from Instagram, either — no surprise since Facebook owns Instagram.
On Wednesday, Yiannopoulos took to Instagram with a look at the email explaining his ban from Patreon:
"Your past association with the Proud Boys, though recently disavowed, is a breach of our guidelines," a member of Patreon's Trust and Safety explains.
This has been a year where online platforms take greater responsibility to ban problematic figures, many of whom identify as members of the alt-right, from spreading malicious, incorrect, and defamatory information.
Alex Jones was banned from Twitter forever, after Apple and Spotify removed his podcasts over the summer.
De-platforming guys like Jones, Yiannopoulos, and Benjamin is a step in the right direction for stopping them from acquiring the capital they need, financial and otherwise, to keep advancing their phony bullshit. Good on Patreon for taking a stand.
Raymond Wong is Mashable's Senior Tech Correspondent. He reviews gadgets and tech toys and analyzes the tech industry. Raymond's also a bit of a camera geek, gamer, and fine chocolate lover. Before arriving at Mashable, he was the Deputy Editor of NBC Universal's tech publication DVICE. His writing has appeared on G4TV, BGR, Yahoo and Ubergizmo, to name a few. You can follow Raymond on Twitter @raywongy or Instagram @sourlemons.
