The UK’s biggest crowdfunding platform Crowdfunder has shut down the climate activist group Just Stop Oil’s account, saying “it no longer complied with its terms of use” after a series of acts of vandalism.
On Friday, Just Stop Oil’s Crowdfunder ended, saying said that it had raised over £78,000 with 535 supporters in 242 days.
They threw two tins of Heinz Tomato soup over the 1888 work Sunflowers shortly after 11 a.m. on Friday, before kneeling down in front of the painting and appearing to glue their hands to the wall beneath it.
One of the activists, 21-year-old Phoebe Plummer from London, said in front of the painting: “What is worth more, art or life? Is it worth more than food? Worth more than justice? Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting, or the protection of our planet and people? The cost of living crisis is part of the cost of oil crisis.”
‘If They’re Lawful and Compliant’
On Monday, Crowdfunder co-founder and director Dawn Bébe told The Epoch Times by email that “Just Stop Oil was closed when it no longer complied with our terms of use.”Crowdfunder is the UK’s number one crowdfunding platform. Bébe said it has raised over £4.2 million for green and sustainability projects across the UK. She did not specify which terms of use were broken.
“Our project owners are a passionate bunch, aiming to tackle some of society’s biggest challenges by making their ideas happen. But sometimes the projects that matter most demand changes to society’s rules and they challenge the status quo,” she said.
“That’s why some of our biggest projects cause the biggest public debates. Not everyone agrees with the aims or actions of a project, they object loudly, and a noise erupts across on and offline media, with both sides making strong arguments for their side of the debate,” she said.
“At Crowdfunder projects that matter are supported by a community that cares and while we recognise that some projects may become the subject of public debate, if they’re lawful and compliant with our guidelines, the crowd will ultimately decide whether or not they receive funding,” she added.
“While Just Stop Oil was closed when it no longer complied with our terms of use, we welcome projects that aim to protect our planet and environment,” said Bébe.
The disruptions are part of Just Stop Oil’s “October uprising” demanding the government begin the process of winding down fossil fuel production in the country.
While their Crowdfunder is cut off, Just Stop Oil still has the backing of rich families who descended from oil magnates.
Just Stop Oil, a spin-off from Extinction Rebellion, is funded by the Climate Emergency Fund, which itself is funded by the oil heirs from the Getty and Rockefeller families Aileen Getty, Rebecca Rockefeller Lambert, and Peter Gill Case.
Climate Emergency Fund has awarded millions to an international network of activists which they call the “disruptive arm of the global climate movement.”
A Just Stop Oil spokeswoman told The Epoch Times that it was “not sure” exactly why it was taken off Crowdfunder.
