The Grayzone investigated the suspicious PayPal ban by interviewing the small donor flagged by Paypal. What Grayzone Editor Max Blumenthal learned “confirms that our account was blocked on political grounds,” he says in the following video.
By Joe Lauria
Special to Consortium News
Max Blumenthal, the editor of The Grayzone, reports:
“This October, Paypal suspended The Grayzone’s account, blocking our audience from donating to us without explaining anything to them, and preventing us from accessing several thousand dollars already in the account. In order to regain access, Paypal has demanded we go through an invasive process requiring us to provide photo ID, tax forms, and to explain two donations totaling $40 from a private citizen in Australia.”
Blumenthal investigated the suspicious ban by interviewing the small donor flagged by Paypal. What he learned “confirms that our account was blocked on political grounds, and raises some truly disturbing questions about the role of the Five Eyes global surveillance network in undermining independent media.” WATCH the 8 min 37 sec video above.
Consortium News’ PayPal account was permanently suspended in May 2022. PayPal refused to give any reason. It told CN: “You can’t use PayPal anymore. … We noticed activity in your account that’s inconsistent with our User Agreement and we no longer offer you PayPal services. … Because of potential risk exposure, we’ve permanently limited your account. You’ll no longer be able to use the account for any transactions.”
The ban led to an outpouring of public support for Consortium News.
The only reasonable conclusion for PayPal’s ban on CN is a supposed violation in PayPal’s user agreement of providing “false, inaccurate or misleading information.” CN does not engage in any other trade than information.
If seen in the context of critics of U.S. policy in Ukraine having been kicked off platforms like Twitter at the time, including three Consortium News writers, the logical conclusion to be drawn was that CN‘s critical coverage of Washington’s Ukraine policy was the reason behind PayPal’s action.
PayPal may have been working on the advice of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). In July 2021, the ADL and PayPal announced a “partnership initiative to fight extremism and hate through the financial industry …” It would be an extraordinary stretch to conclude that Consortium News was engaging in “extremism” or “hate” because of its Ukraine coverage.
However, CN has reported extensively, since its founder Robert Parry first did in 2014, about the influential role of neo-Nazism in Ukraine’s military.
In a speech to the U.N. Security Council days before PayPal’s 2022 permanent ban was confirmed, British ambassador Barbara Woodward said, “We are deeply concerned that Russia’s war is accompanied by a propaganda campaign, including in this Council, designed to dehumanise and demonise Ukrainians by labelling them as neo-Nazis. This hate speech is extremely dangerous.”
Reuters reported that PayPal transactions would be researched by the ADL’s Center on Extremism to also combat “anti-government organizations.” Reuters said: “The information collected through the initiatives will be shared with other firms in the financial industry, law enforcement and policymakers, PayPal said.”
That raises the specter that government and law enforcement may have been involved in PayPal’s decision on Consortium News.
Joe Lauria is editor-in-chief of Consortium News and a former U.N. correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and other newspapers, including The Montreal Gazette, the London Daily Mail and The Star of Johannesburg. He was an investigative reporter for the Sunday Times of London, a financial reporter for Bloomberg News and began his professional work as a 19-year old stringer for The New York Times. He is the author of two books, A Political Odyssey, with Sen. Mike Gravel, foreword by Daniel Ellsberg; and How I Lost By Hillary Clinton, foreword by Julian Assange.
In response to the DuckDuckGo search query “famous journalists whose PayPal accounts were frozen”, DuckDuckGo’s “Search Assist” came back with the following:
PayPal has frozen the accounts of several journalists and media organizations, including those from MintPress and Consortium News, which are known for their critical reporting on mainstream narratives. These actions have raised concerns about financial censorship and the impact on free expression in journalism.
Journalists Affected by PayPal Account Freezes
Notable Cases
Journalist/Organization Date of Account Freeze Reason for Freeze
Mnar Adley (Mint Press) May 2022 Alleged violation of PayPal’s acceptable use policy, linked to anti-mainstream narratives.
Joe Lauria (Consortium News) May 2022 Similar to Mint Press, involved in reporting that challenges mainstream media narratives.
Toby Young (Free Speech Union) September 2022 Cited for breaches of acceptable use policy related to misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines.
Impact of Freezes
Mint Press and Consortium News: Both organizations reported that their accounts were frozen without clear explanations, impacting their ability to operate financially. They claimed the bans were politically motivated due to their critical reporting on U.S. intelligence and the Ukraine conflict.
Free Speech Union: After public backlash, PayPal reinstated Young’s accounts, highlighting the pressure on the company regarding its policies on free expression.
These incidents illustrate the broader issue of financial censorship affecting journalists and media organizations, raising concerns about the implications for free speech and independent reporting.
Impact of Freezes
Mint Press and Consortium News: Both organizations reported that their accounts were frozen without clear explanations, impacting their ability to operate financially. They claimed the bans were politically motivated due to their critical reporting on U.S. intelligence and the Ukraine conflict.
Free Speech Union: After public backlash, PayPal reinstated Young’s accounts, highlighting the pressure on the company regarding its policies on free expression.
These incidents illustrate the broader issue of financial censorship affecting journalists and media organizations, raising concerns about the implications for free speech and independent reporting.
PayPal has been criticized for freezing journalist accounts due to alleged content-based bans, often without clear explanations. This has raised concerns about censorship and the impact on free speech, particularly for independent media that challenge mainstream narratives.
Financial censorship undermines independent journalism by creating economic pressures that can lead to self-censorship, reduced editorial quality, and even the closure of media outlets. When journalists face financial instability, they may prioritize commercial interests over quality reporting, compromising their ability to provide reliable information.
Journalists facing account freezes by payment platforms can explore alternatives such as crowdfunding through platforms that support independent media or seeking support from nonprofit organizations dedicated to press freedom. Additionally, they may consider establishing direct payment methods with their audience, like subscriptions or donations through their own websites.
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Those behind the clear ruthless censorship tactics against journalist and media organizations are the same people behind the global push toward central bank digital currency (CBDC) and the elimination of cash for transactions. Consortium News readers will recall that the Ottawa protests against hugely-suppressive COVID restrictions in Canada – led by the Canadian Truckers – resulted in wide closures/freezes of bank accounts of Ottawa protest (financial) supporters, including uninvolved family members and friends/associates of protest supporters.
Informed people around the world recognized the Canada bank freezes as a clear warning of what is/was to come were central bank digital currency to become universally implemented; the experiences of Mnar Adley, Joe Lauria, Toby Young, now Max Blumenthal, and a significant number of other critically-thinking journalists would become the same experience for ALL people on Earth.
Say the wrong thing (in other words: legitimately oppose Fascist dictatorial policies), visit blacklisted websites, engage in innocent telephone or email communications with blacklisted individuals, etc. – and you find your CBDC bank account frozen, making it impossible to pay for essentials like food and gas, or pay utility bills and/or monthly mortgage payments.
What about the thousands of dollars the NED is giving to mainstream media people for disinformation and propaganda?
Shame!
Mr Blumenthal,
There has been no more difficult circumstance in my long life than repudiating my own people, ‘evangelical Christians’, as a university kid who thought the Vietnam War was an abomination. What you are facing by telling the truth about Gaza and Zionism is orders of magnitude more difficult, particularly because you’re a public figure.
Your reaction above to the latest attempt to silence you is astonishing in several ways. One of those that sings to me is the calm and steady digging up, and measured presentation, of facts that no sane person can be anything but outraged by. The latter was always my problem; getting lost in the rage. How you manage to avoid that pitfall day after day after day is beyond me. But you have my undying admiration, and my thanks for your work.
David Hallam
I canceled my longstanding PayPal account when they stopped letting me donate to Consortium News in 2022. I had that account for well over a decade and made many payments through it. But once I realized they were highly partisan and untrustworthy, I decided I would never use them again. No regrets dumping that creepy company.