Misinformation and hate

Abstract

Abstract Individuals and institutions have long supported causes that encourage and spread misinformation and hatred of other groups. Crowdfunding replicates this problem with giving and adds the potential to spread misinformation and hate to a wider audience through the viral effects of social media. Some crowdfunding campaigns raise money based on harmful misinformation, including scientifically unsupported medical procedures. Through these campaigns, they spread unsupported claims that these procedures work to donors and non-donors alike. Similarly, crowdfunding platforms have hosted campaigns for neo-Nazi and white nationalist groups among many other hate-driven causes. The potential of crowdfunding to spread these messages to a wide audience beyond the ranks of donors requires crowdfunding platforms to decide which campaigns they are willing to host.