{"id":1775973,"date":"2022-12-15T08:32:16","date_gmt":"2022-12-15T13:32:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1775973"},"modified":"2022-12-15T09:19:20","modified_gmt":"2022-12-15T14:19:20","slug":"amazon-excludes-conservatives-christians-from-their-charity-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/amazon-excludes-conservatives-christians-from-their-charity-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazon Excludes Conservatives, Christians From Their Charity Program"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Famazon-excludes-conservatives-christians-from-their-charity-program%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1775973&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Scrolling through Amazon to find the perfect Christmas gift for your niece? Did you know that the moment you click \u201cbuy\u201d on that doll, you can support a charity of your choice with some of the proceeds of every purchase? <\/p>\n<p>Of course, Amazon won\u2019t let you support just any cause. Your shopping can\u2019t help violent white supremacists like the Ku Klux Klan, or antisemitic groups like the Nation of Islam, or supporters of that notoriously evil cause, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2022\/10\/24\/yeshiva-university-walks-fine-line-lgbt-issues-new-student-club\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">religious liberty<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Take the Alliance Defending Freedom, for example. ADF, one of the premier legal nonprofits in the United States, which has won several cases at the Supreme Court in recent years, has been excluded from Amazon\u2019s charity service Amazon Smile. Meanwhile, the notorious scandal-plagued <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2022\/09\/13\/southern-poverty-law-center-takes-aim-at-school-boards-local-elections-with-new-pacs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Southern Poverty Law Center<\/a>\u2014the organization that got ADF blacklisted in the first place\u2014is more than happy to tell supporters that they can help the SPLC raise money without directly sending the SPLC a dime.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you know there\u2019s an easy way to support the SPLC\u2014at no cost to you\u2014while shopping with Amazon?\u201d the SPLC sent in an email. \u201cAmazon donates a percentage of every purchase made through Smile.Amazon.com.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you plan on shopping with Amazon this holiday season, take advantage of this opportunity to support our work for justice, equity, and human rights every time you make a purchase,\u201d the SPLC added. The organization even included two graphics to help supporters use Amazon Smile and donate to the SPLC.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1046\" height=\"1446\" data-id=\"955055\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-09-at-9.27.39-AM.png\" alt=\"Southern Poverty Law Center Amazon Smile email screenshot\" class=\"wp-image-955055\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-09-at-9.27.39-AM.png 1046w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-09-at-9.27.39-AM-217x300-1.png 217w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-09-at-9.27.39-AM-741x1024-1.png 741w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-09-at-9.27.39-AM-768x1062-1.png 768w\"   style=\"display:none\"><figcaption>Southern Poverty Law Center Amazon Smile email screenshot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1052\" height=\"1450\" data-id=\"955056\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-09-at-5.02.15-PM.png\" alt=\"Southern Poverty Law Center Amazon Smile email screenshot\" class=\"wp-image-955056\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-09-at-5.02.15-PM.png 1052w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-09-at-5.02.15-PM-218x300-1.png 218w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-09-at-5.02.15-PM-743x1024-1.png 743w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-09-at-5.02.15-PM-768x1059-1.png 768w\" \/><figcaption>Southern Poverty Law Center Amazon Smile email screenshot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The SPLC failed to mention, however, that donations would prop up the organization\u2019s discredited accusations of \u201chate\u201d against mainstream conservative and Christian organizations such as ADF. <\/p>\n<p>Amazon systematically excludes many conservative Christians from the kind of Christmas cheer that comes with knowing that every purchase helps a good cause of their choice. Thanks to Amazon\u2019s decision to exclude organizations that the SPLC brands \u201chate groups,\u201d those who support religious liberty can\u2019t help ADF with their doll or other purchases.<\/p>\n<p>As I explain in my book \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Making-Hate-Pay-Corruption-Southern\/dp\/1642934399\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center<\/a>,\u201d the SPLC took the program it used to bankrupt organizations associated with the Ku Klux Klan and weaponized it against conservative groups, partially in order to scare donors into ponying up cash and partially to silence its ideological opponents. The SPLC places ADF and other conservative organizations, such as the Family Research Council, the American Family Association, the Pacific Justice Institute, and the American Freedom Law Center, on a \u201chate map\u201d along with Ku Klux Klan chapters. <\/p>\n<p>Critics across the political spectrum have voiced opposition and alarm to the idea that a mainstream legal nonprofit like ADF has found itself on the list. <\/p>\n<p>Nadine Strossen, former president of the American Civil Liberties Union, publicly dissented from the \u201chate group\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/adflegal.org\/setting-the-record-straight\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">accusation against ADF<\/a>, saying that such a claim \u201csuppresses conversations we need to have and voices that should be heard.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Michael Weinstein, founder and president of the secularist group Military Religious Freedom Foundation, rejected ADF\u2019s policy positions, but affirmed the group\u2019s \u201cintegrity, compassion, character, empathy, honor, and concern for their fellow humans.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"698\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-28-at-2.19.38-PM-1024x698-1.png\" alt=\"Southern Poverty Law Center Hate Map SPLC\" class=\"wp-image-952580\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-28-at-2.19.38-PM-1024x698-1.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-28-at-2.19.38-PM-300x204-1.png 300w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-28-at-2.19.38-PM-768x523-1.png 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-28-at-2.19.38-PM.png 1221w\" \/><figcaption>Southern Poverty Law Center 2021 \u201chate map.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Former employees have also condemned the SPLC\u2019s \u201chate group\u201d accusations.<\/p>\n<p>In 2019, the Southern Poverty Law Center fired its co-founder, and saw its president step down amid accusations of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pjmedia.com\/news-and-politics\/tyler-o-neil\/2019\/03\/20\/the-splcs-scandalous-history-on-race-n64496\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">racial discrimination<\/a>\u00a0and sexual harassment, some of which traced back decades. During this scandal, a former employee revealed that the \u201chate group\u201d list is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/news\/news-desk\/the-reckoning-of-morris-dees-and-the-southern-poverty-law-center\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">cynical fundraising scam<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., in a congressional hearing, asked <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2021\/10\/05\/we-hear-you-amazons-scary-reasoning-for-denying-a-book-ad\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">then-Amazon CEO<\/a> Jeff Bezos why Amazon continues to rely on the SPLC. Bezos acknowledged that the company uses \u201cthe Southern Poverty Law Center data to say which charities are extremist organizations.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cSir, I\u2019m going to acknowledge this is an imperfect system,\u201d Bezos said, adding that he would welcome alternative suggestions.<\/p>\n<p>Amazon under current CEO Andy Jassy did not respond to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/author\/tyler-oneil\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Daily Signal\u2019s request<\/a> for comment about whether the company would reconsider using the SPLC\u2019s \u201chate group\u201d list to exclude charities from Amazon Smile.<\/p>\n<p>The Ruth Institute, an interfaith coalition aimed at helping \u201csurvivors of the sexual revolution,\u201d applied to join Amazon Smile back in 2016. \u201cWe were officially rejected from participation,\u201d the organization\u2019s treasurer, Rachel Golden, told The Daily Signal. She reached out to Amazon Smile and received an email with registration steps. After she followed them, Amazon sent another email noting that the Ruth Institute is \u201cnot eligible to participate in AmazonSmile.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe rely on the Southern Poverty Law Center to determine which charities are in certain ineligible categories,\u201d the follow-up email states. \u201cYou have been excluded from the AmazonSmile program because the Southern Poverty Law Center lists The\u00a0Ruth\u00a0Institute\u00a0in an ineligible category.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"980\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Amazon-Smile-Email-Ruth-Institute.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-955915\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Amazon-Smile-Email-Ruth-Institute.png 980w, https:\/\/first-heritage-foundation.s3.amazonaws.com\/live_files\/2022\/12\/Amazon-Smile-Email-Ruth-Institute-300x184.png 300w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Amazon-Smile-Email-Ruth-Institute-768x470-1.png 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>In branding the Ruth Institute a \u201chate group,\u201d the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.splcenter.org\/fighting-hate\/extremist-files\/group\/ruth-institute\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SPLC repeatedly cites comments<\/a> from the institute\u2019s founder, Jennifer Roback Morse, stating that homosexual activity is \u201cintrinsically disordered.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Yet Morse did not come up with that language on her own. It traces back to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/ccc_css\/archive\/catechism\/p3s2c2a6.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Catechism of the Catholic Church<\/a>, which states: <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity,\u00a0tradition has always declared that \u2018homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.\u2019\u00a0They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In citing the Morse quote as evidence that the Ruth Institute is a \u201chate group,\u201d the SPLC includes context showing that Morse intentionally cited Catholic doctrine. \u201cIt\u2019s really important to be well-informed about what the church actually says about homosexual practice \u2026 . The church is very clear that same-sex sexual acts are intrinsically disordered and can never be morally acceptable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>If echoing the Catholic Church\u2019s official position on homosexuality makes an organization a \u201chate group,\u201d why does the SPLC not put the Catholic Church itself on its \u201chate map\u201d? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2022\/11\/29\/blood-your-hands-christian-group-vandalized-splc-suggests-hate-inspired-club-q-shooting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The SPLC<\/a> has not commented on the matter, and did not respond to The Daily Signal\u2019s request for comment for this article.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnfortunately, Amazon is continuing to rely on the thoroughly\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.currentaffairs.org\/2019\/03\/the-southern-poverty-law-center-is-everything-thats-wrong-with-liberalism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">discredited<\/a>,\u00a0blatantly\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.city-journal.org\/html\/demagogic-bully-15370.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">partisan<\/a>\u00a0SPLC as gatekeeper for its Smile program,\u201d Jeremy Tedesco, senior counsel and senior vice president of corporate engagement at ADF, told The Daily Signal. \u201cIt\u2019s been over two years since Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.c-span.org\/video\/?c4896328\/user-clip-gaetz-presses-bezos-splc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">acknowledged to Congress<\/a>\u00a0that his company\u2019s use of the SPLC \u2018hate group\u2019 list to determine which nonprofits can participate\u00a0is \u2018an imperfect system.\u2019 Mr. Bezos also stated that he \u2018would like a better source if [he] can get it,\u2019 but the issue remains unresolved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy continuing to depend on the SPLC\u2019s own biased and ideologically driven definition of \u2018hate group\u2019\u2014which\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/news\/news-desk\/the-reckoning-of-morris-dees-and-the-southern-poverty-law-center\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">one former SPLC employee<\/a> rightly described as part of a \u2018highly profitable scam\u2019 aimed at \u2018bilking gullible Northern liberals\u2019\u2014Mr. Bezos and Amazon are depriving Americans of their ability to choose which causes they want their hard-earned dollars to support,\u201d Tedesco added. \u201cThat\u2019s wrong, and Amazon should take tangible steps to restore a culture of charitable choice in its giving program.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The \u201chate group\u201d attack carries the threat of more dire consequences than just the Amazon Smile blacklist, however. <\/p>\n<p>A deranged would-be terrorist used the SPLC\u2019s \u201chate map\u201d to target the conservative Christian group Family Research Council\u2019s Washington, D.C., headquarters in 2012, intending to shoot everyone in the building and smear a Chick-fil-A sandwich in the face of each victim. (LGBT activists had boycotted Chick-fil-A at the time, noting the fast-food chain\u2019s charity, the WinShape Foundation, had donated millions of dollars to conservative Christian organizations.)<\/p>\n<p>A security guard in the lobby prevented the attack, and a jury later convicted the man on terrorism charges. Although the SPLC condemned the assault, it has kept the Family Research Council on its \u201chate map\u201d ever since.<\/p>\n<p>Amazon has acknowledged that this is an \u201cimperfect system,\u201d but it appears unwilling to change it, even when it means that Amazon Smile systematically prevents conservatives and Christians from the same Christmas cheer that the SPLC offers its supporters. <\/p>\n<p><em>Have an opinion about this article? To sound off, please email\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:letters@DailySignal.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">letters@DailySignal.com<\/a>\u00a0and we\u2019ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular \u201cWe Hear You\u201d feature. Remember to include the url or headline of the article plus your name and town and\/or state.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Scrolling through Amazon to find the perfect Christmas gift for your niece? Did you know that the moment you click \u201cbuy\u201d on that doll, you can support a charity of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1775976,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[4558,5458,6543,7072,4539,9246,6644,3819],"class_list":["post-1775973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report","tag-amazon","tag-bongino","tag-charity","tag-christians","tag-conservatives","tag-excludes","tag-program","tag-report"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1775973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1775973"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1775973\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1775976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1775973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1775973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1775973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}