Paypal blocks donation to Grayzone

Grayzone:

On January 3, a reader tried to make a donation of $10 to The Grayzone through PayPal. The small donor, a US citizen who lives in California, wrote the following message to accompany the donation: “Thanks for all your excellent work and especially the Gray Zone’s coverage of the murder of Soleimani and war with Iran. You fellows are so insightful and brilliant.”

The Grayzone promptly received an email from the tech company stating that the donation was “pending.” The message noted, “To comply with government regulations, PayPal is required to review certain transactions.”

The next day, the small donor notified The Grayzone that she had gotten an email from the PayPal Compliance Department demanding that they “provide the following information”:

• “An explanation of the reference to ‘Iran.’

• The purpose of this payment, including a complete and detailed explanation of what is intended to be paid for.

• A sales receipt or other documentation pertaining to this transaction.

• Full name, address, and current location of the Beneficiary of the payment.”

Then, on January 6, PayPal notified The Grayzone that the donation “has been reversed.”