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Amazon's Charity 'AmazonSmile' Funds Anti-Vaccine Groups (theguardian.com)

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the donating-to-disinformation dept.

An anonymous reader quotes the Guardian: Amazon appears to be helping fund anti-vaccine not-for-profit organizations through its charity arm, the AmazonSmile Foundation. The AmazonSmile fundraising program -- through which Amazon donates 0.5% of the purchase price of a shopper's Amazon transactions to an organization of their choice -- is promoted on the websites of four prominent anti-vaccine organizations... Numerous other anti-vaccine organizations are also listed by Amazon as eligible for the donations.

Amazon's donations are just the latest example of how US tech companies have -- wittingly or not -- helped to promote and finance the anti-vaccine movement... Not-for-profit organizations are key players in the anti-vaccine movement in the U.S.

10 of 132 comments (clear)

  1. Must be a 501(c)(3) charity by jfdavis668 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    To receive donations, the organization must be a 501(c)(3) public charitable organization. If these groups get approved by the IRS for this status, it would be hard for Amazon to stop it.

  2. Re:Hate Groups by bferrell · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Maybe because anti-vaxer stupidity has triggered extremely dangerous outbreaks of disease?

    Just a thought.

  3. Well, customer stupidity is good for business by gweihir · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This is just one instance where this becomes glaringly obvious. Personally, I would not mind so much that a lot of people are complete morons. But the anti-vaxxers do harm others and that is not acceptable.

    --
    Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    1. Re:Well, customer stupidity is good for business by gweihir · · Score: 4, Insightful

      But the anti-vaxxers do harm others and that is not acceptable.

      You see this argument a lot. What it leaves is the question of why you don't trust the vaccine you got?

      First, the measles vaccine is known to "only" be 97% effective. Second, there are children too young to be vaccinated and third, some people cannot be vaccinated because of medical issues. Also, herd immunity for Measles is at 93...95%, so there is not a lot of margin. Also, who said they would harm me? I find it completely unacceptable that some people have the arrogance to endanger others without any good arguments on their side. I think we need these restrictions on non-vaccinated (by choice) people as well, for example no access to public places like schools, restaurants, shops, etc.

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
  4. And if they block "your choice"... by WoodstockJeff · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ... it kind of defeats the "charity of your choice" nature of the program. "Your choice of the charities we approve of" isn't what they advertise.

    1. Re:And if they block "your choice"... by Gavagai80 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If I choose to have Amazon donate to the charitable wing of Islamic State (which kills fewer Americans than anti-vaxxers), then they should?

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      This space intentionally left blank
    2. Re:And if they block "your choice"... by WoodstockJeff · · Score: 3, Informative

      Islamic State isn't a legal charity in the US, so it wouldn't qualify on that basis.

  5. Re:40 years ago by GameboyRMH · · Score: 5, Insightful

    40 years of generously giving these nutjobs a seat at the debate table under the "marketplace of ideas" school of thought, and then social media connecting these sparsely spread nutjobs together and giving them a megaphone.

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  6. Re:40 years ago by GameboyRMH · · Score: 3, Funny

    A few years ago? They've been getting far too much attention since at least the late '90s, although that's around the time that shameful fraud Andrew Wakefield kicked this trainwreck into high gear.

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  7. Re:40 years ago by omnichad · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The vaccines worked too well. There's very little living memory of just how bad these diseases were or the relative risk compared to potential vaccine complications.