After Google threatened to blacklist Zero Hedge from their ad exchange unless they censored their comments, PayPal followed up by banning Zero Hedge from their service so they couldn’t make use of donations. This was to prevent them from abandoning Google’s ad service and relying solely on community donations.
In a post made on June 17th, 2020, Tyler Durden explained…
“[…] now that we know which way the winds are blowing, we are urgently working on a premium version of the site which will be independent of outside forces, and ad free. Incidentally many of the comments that got us here, were the result of targeted provocation by people who don’t have this site’s best interest at heart.
“One other thing: we have also been deplatformed by PayPal, which is why the donation section is different now.”
For now, Zero Hedge is keeping their comments but implementing filters to comply with Google’s request to censor speech they don’t like. The Federalist went with the nuclear option by wiping out their entire comment section to comply with Google’s request and maintain their spot within their ad network. Since Google controls the entire ad network exchange, especially for ads serviced in the West, if you’re blacklisted from their network then you’re not going to be able to survive for long.
Zero Hedge also joins others on the ever-growing list of wrongthinkers either deplatformed from ad services or banned from taking donations through PayPal.
This includes but isn’t limited to BitChute, David Icke, Hacker News, 2Genderz Productions, Mr. Obvious, and the Straight Pride Parade.
It won’t be long before nearly every major Conservative news outlet is either deplatformed from the American ad exchange courtesy of Google, or deplatformed from PayPal to prevent them from acquiring donations. Either way, the end goal is to financially starve websites promoting wrongthink in order to indirectly shut them down.
(Thanks for the news tip durka durka)