E-commerce giant Amazon has removed the Black Lives Matter organization from its AmazonSmile charity platform as the organization faces increasing financial scrutiny. Amazon previously was a major cheerleader for Black Lives Matter, including making large donations to the group and a notorious incident in which founder Jeff Bezos scolded a customer for saying “All Lives Matter” in an email.
The Washington Examiner reports that Amazon has removed the Black Lives Matter organization from its AmazonSmile charity donation platform as the social justice group faces increased financial scrutiny. AmazonSmile has donated $306 million to U.S. charities throughout its existence, money that BLM will now be cut off from.
Jeff Bezos speaks about his flight on Blue Origin’s New Shepard into space during a press conference on July 20, 2021 in Van Horn, Texas. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 11: Producer Patrisse Cullors attends the Viacom Winter TCA 2019 panel on February 11, 2019 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Viacom)
Amazon previously donated $10 million to BLM and 11 other social justice groups during nationwide unrest caused by the killing of George Floyd. Multiple other silicon valley tech firms embraced the group amidst riots throughout the country, including Netflix, and Hulu. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos also scolded an Amazon customer in an email for saying “All Lives Matter.”
An Amazon representative discussed the removal of BLM from the AmazonSmile platform with the Washington Examiner, stating:
Charitable organizations must meet the requirements outlined in our participation agreement to be eligible for AmazonSmile.
Among other eligibility requirements, organizations are required to be in good standing in their state of incorporation and in the states and territories where they are authorized to do business.
Organizations that don’t meet the requirements listed in the agreement may have its eligibility suspended or revoked. Charities can request to be reinstated once they are back in good standing.
The co-founder of the BLM organization, Patrisse Cullors, who resigned from the group in May said that the unaccounted millions her group received came from “white corporation guilt.” Cullors stated: “People have to know we didn’t go out and solicit the money. This is money that came from white guilt, white corporation guilt, and they just poured money in.”
BLM shut down its online fundraising on February 2nd after California and Washington issued legal threats to the group of failing to report what it did with the millions it received during 2020. The organization published a report in February 2021 which alleged that it ended 2020 with $60 million on hand.
Filings recently reported by the Washington Examiner found that BLM has retained the services of the law firm owned by Democratic lawyer Marc Elias who previously funded the anti-Trump Steele dossier while serving as Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign general counsel.
Read more at the Washington Examiner here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com
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