Corporate America is denouncing the violent, racist Charlottesville rally in unequivocal terms.
Many big brands have released statements condemning the deadly violence that broke out on Saturday at the white supremacist rally, which ended in a terror attack.
GoDaddy
Domain name provider GoDaddy said on Sunday that it will no longer serve The Daily Stormer, a white supremacist and neo-Nazi website that published a derogatory story about Heather Heyer, a victim of the violence in Charlottesville.
“We have informed The Daily Stormer that they have 24 hours to move the domain to another provider, as they have violated our terms of service. If no action is taken after 24 hours, we will cancel the service,” GoDaddy said in a statement. “Given their latest article comes on the immediate heels of a violent act, we believe this type of article could incite additional violence, which violates our terms of service.”
Google Domains became The Daily Stormer’s website registrar after the site was booted off GoDaddy. But Google soon ditched The Daily Stormer as well.
A spokesperson said, “we are cancelling Daily Stormer’s registration with Google Domains for violating our terms of service.”
Tiki Brand
Some of the white nationalists who marched in Charlottesville over the weekend were carrying tiki torches, prompting the company to distance itself from the violent rally.
“Tiki Brand is not associated in any way with the events that took place in Charlottesville and are deeply saddened and disappointed,” the brand said in a statement on Monday. “We do not support their message or the use of our products in this way.”
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings responded harshly to those white supremacist protesters who carried signs with a modified version of the hockey team’s logo.
“The Detroit Red Wings vehemently disagree with and are not associated in any way with the event taking place today in Charlottesville, Va.,” the hockey team said on Saturday.
“The Red Wings believe that Hockey is for everyone and we celebrate the great diversity of our fan base and our nation. We are exploring every possible legal action as it pertains to the misuse of our logo in this disturbing demonstration.”
AirBnB
AirBnB co-founder Brian Chesky said people who participated in white nationalist protests were removed from AirBnB units.
“We require those who are members of the Airbnb community to accept people regardless of their race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or age,” Chesky said.
“When we see people pursuing behavior on the platform that would be antithetical to the Airbnb Community Commitment, we take appropriate action. In this case, last week, we removed these people from Airbnb.”
Chesky said he learned last month that white supremacists were using AirBnB to arrange lodging and coordinate events in Charlottesville.
PayPal
Franz Paasche, head of Corporate Affairs and Communications at PayPal, wrote in a blog post on Tuesday that the digital payments platform works “to ensure that our services are not used to accept payments or donations for activities that promote hate, violence or racial intolerance. This includes organizations that advocate racist views, such as the KKK, white supremacist groups or Nazi groups.”
The company added that it will “limit or end customer relationships and prohibit the use of our services by those that meet the thresholds of violating our policy.”
GoFundMe
A spokesman for the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe told CNN Tech that, “white nationalists and neo-nazis cannot use GoFundMe to promote hatred, racism, or intolerance.”
“If a campaign violates GoFundMe’s terms of service, we’ll remove it from the platform.”
The company said it has shut down multiple campaigns to raise money for James Fields, who was accused of driving the car that hit Heyer.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg condemned white supremacist groups in a post to his Facebook page.
“The last few days have been hard to process. I know a lot of us have been asking where this hate comes from,” said Zuckerberg. “As a Jew, it’s something I’ve wondered much of my life. It’s a disgrace that we still need to say that neo-Nazis and white supremacists are wrong — as if this is somehow not obvious.”
Facebook has taken down a number of white supremacist Facebook Groups since the Charlottesville rally.
Apple
Apple CEO Tim Cook said President Trump’s response to the violence in Charlottesville contradicts American values.
“I disagree with the president and others who believe that there is a moral equivalence between white supremacists and Nazis, and those who oppose them by standing up for human rights,” Cook wrote in an email to employees. “Equating the two runs counter to our ideals as Americans.”
He announced Apple would donate $1 million each to the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League, describing them as groups working “to rid our country of hate.”
And for every dollar that Apple employees donate to certain human rights groups through the end of September, the company will donate $2. Customers will also soon be able to use iTunes to support the Southern Poverty Law Center.
— Kaya Yurieff contributed reporting.
