# Incident I00110: How COVID-19 conspiracists and extremists use crowdfunding platforms to fund their activities
* **Summary:** <i>According to the European Commission “Crowdfunding is an emerging alternative form of financing that connects those who can give, lend or invest money directly with those who need financing for a specific project. It usually refers to public online calls to contribute finance to specific projects.” During COVID-19 lockdowns, these platforms saw a significant increase in their traffic.<br><br>Our previous investigation regarding a French white supremacist network already called these services to our attention. This extremist network was using a French crowdfunding platform called Tipeee as a way to monetise polarising content and disinformation. We investigated more deeply how these platforms address disinformation on their services. For this blogpost, we had a closer look at Kickstarter, Patreon, GoFundMe, Indiegogo and Tipeee.</i>
| [T0017 Conduct Fundraising](../../generated_pages/techniques/T0017.md) | IT00000435 The EU Disinfo Lab produced a report into disinformation published on crowdfunding platforms:<br><br><i>More worrisome is the direct monetisation of disinformation happening on crowdfunding platforms: on Kickstarter, we found a user openly raising money for a documentary project suggesting that COVID-19 is a conspiracy.</i><br><br>A Kickstarter user attempted to use the platform to fund production of a documentary (T0017: Conduct Fundraising, T0087: Develop Video-Based Content, T0146: Account Asset, T0148.006: Crowdfunding Platform).<br><br><i>On Patreon, we found several instances of direct monetisation of COVID-19 disinformation, including posts promoting a device allegedly protecting against COVID-19 and 5G, as well as posts related to the “Plandemic” conspiracy video, which gained attention on YouTube before being removed by the platform.<br><br>We also found an account called “Stranger than fiction” entirely dedicated to disinformation, which openly states that their content was “Banned by screwtube and fakebook, our videos have been viewed over a billion times.”</i><br><br>The “Stranger than fiction” user presented itself as an alternative news source which had been banned from other platforms (T0146: Account Asset, T0097.202: News Outlet Persona, T0121.001: Bypass Content Bocking, T0152.012: Subscription Service Platform).<br><br><i>On the US-based crowdfunding platform IndieGogo, EU DisinfoLab found a successful crowdfunding campaign of €133.903 for a book called Revolution Q. This book, now also available on Amazon, claims to be “Written for both newcomers and long-time QAnon fans alike, this book is a treasure-trove of information designed to help everyone weather The Storm.”</i><br><br>An IndieGogo account was used to gather funds to produce a book on QAnon (T0017: Conduct Fundraising, T0085.005: Develop Book, T0146: Account Asset, T0148.006: Crowdfunding Platform), with the book later sold on Amazon marketplace (T0148.007: eCommerce Platform). |
| [T0085.005 Develop Book](../../generated_pages/techniques/T0085.005.md) | IT00000442 The EU Disinfo Lab produced a report into disinformation published on crowdfunding platforms:<br><br><i>More worrisome is the direct monetisation of disinformation happening on crowdfunding platforms: on Kickstarter, we found a user openly raising money for a documentary project suggesting that COVID-19 is a conspiracy.</i><br><br>A Kickstarter user attempted to use the platform to fund production of a documentary (T0017: Conduct Fundraising, T0087: Develop Video-Based Content, T0146: Account Asset, T0148.006: Crowdfunding Platform).<br><br><i>On Patreon, we found several instances of direct monetisation of COVID-19 disinformation, including posts promoting a device allegedly protecting against COVID-19 and 5G, as well as posts related to the “Plandemic” conspiracy video, which gained attention on YouTube before being removed by the platform.<br><br>We also found an account called “Stranger than fiction” entirely dedicated to disinformation, which openly states that their content was “Banned by screwtube and fakebook, our videos have been viewed over a billion times.”</i><br><br>The “Stranger than fiction” user presented itself as an alternative news source which had been banned from other platforms (T0146: Account Asset, T0097.202: News Outlet Persona, T0121.001: Bypass Content Bocking, T0152.012: Subscription Service Platform).<br><br><i>On the US-based crowdfunding platform IndieGogo, EU DisinfoLab found a successful crowdfunding campaign of €133.903 for a book called Revolution Q. This book, now also available on Amazon, claims to be “Written for both newcomers and long-time QAnon fans alike, this book is a treasure-trove of information designed to help everyone weather The Storm.”</i><br><br>An IndieGogo account was used to gather funds to produce a book on QAnon (T0017: Conduct Fundraising, T0085.005: Develop Book, T0146: Account Asset, T0148.006: Crowdfunding Platform), with the book later sold on Amazon marketplace (T0148.007: eCommerce Platform). |
| [T0087 Develop Video-Based Content](../../generated_pages/techniques/T0087.md) | IT00000436 The EU Disinfo Lab produced a report into disinformation published on crowdfunding platforms:<br><br><i>More worrisome is the direct monetisation of disinformation happening on crowdfunding platforms: on Kickstarter, we found a user openly raising money for a documentary project suggesting that COVID-19 is a conspiracy.</i><br><br>A Kickstarter user attempted to use the platform to fund production of a documentary (T0017: Conduct Fundraising, T0087: Develop Video-Based Content, T0146: Account Asset, T0148.006: Crowdfunding Platform).<br><br><i>On Patreon, we found several instances of direct monetisation of COVID-19 disinformation, including posts promoting a device allegedly protecting against COVID-19 and 5G, as well as posts related to the “Plandemic” conspiracy video, which gained attention on YouTube before being removed by the platform.<br><br>We also found an account called “Stranger than fiction” entirely dedicated to disinformation, which openly states that their content was “Banned by screwtube and fakebook, our videos have been viewed over a billion times.”</i><br><br>The “Stranger than fiction” user presented itself as an alternative news source which had been banned from other platforms (T0146: Account Asset, T0097.202: News Outlet Persona, T0121.001: Bypass Content Bocking, T0152.012: Subscription Service Platform).<br><br><i>On the US-based crowdfunding platform IndieGogo, EU DisinfoLab found a successful crowdfunding campaign of €133.903 for a book called Revolution Q. This book, now also available on Amazon, claims to be “Written for both newcomers and long-time QAnon fans alike, this book is a treasure-trove of information designed to help everyone weather The Storm.”</i><br><br>An IndieGogo account was used to gather funds to produce a book on QAnon (T0017: Conduct Fundraising, T0085.005: Develop Book, T0146: Account Asset, T0148.006: Crowdfunding Platform), with the book later sold on Amazon marketplace (T0148.007: eCommerce Platform). |
| [T0097.202 News Outlet Persona](../../generated_pages/techniques/T0097.202.md) | IT00000439 The EU Disinfo Lab produced a report into disinformation published on crowdfunding platforms:<br><br><i>More worrisome is the direct monetisation of disinformation happening on crowdfunding platforms: on Kickstarter, we found a user openly raising money for a documentary project suggesting that COVID-19 is a conspiracy.</i><br><br>A Kickstarter user attempted to use the platform to fund production of a documentary (T0017: Conduct Fundraising, T0087: Develop Video-Based Content, T0146: Account Asset, T0148.006: Crowdfunding Platform).<br><br><i>On Patreon, we found several instances of direct monetisation of COVID-19 disinformation, including posts promoting a device allegedly protecting against COVID-19 and 5G, as well as posts related to the “Plandemic” conspiracy video, which gained attention on YouTube before being removed by the platform.<br><br>We also found an account called “Stranger than fiction” entirely dedicated to disinformation, which openly states that their content was “Banned by screwtube and fakebook, our videos have been viewed over a billion times.”</i><br><br>The “Stranger than fiction” user presented itself as an alternative news source which had been banned from other platforms (T0146: Account Asset, T0097.202: News Outlet Persona, T0121.001: Bypass Content Bocking, T0152.012: Subscription Service Platform).<br><br><i>On the US-based crowdfunding platform IndieGogo, EU DisinfoLab found a successful crowdfunding campaign of €133.903 for a book called Revolution Q. This book, now also available on Amazon, claims to be “Written for both newcomers and long-time QAnon fans alike, this book is a treasure-trove of information designed to help everyone weather The Storm.”</i><br><br>An IndieGogo account was used to gather funds to produce a book on QAnon (T0017: Conduct Fundraising, T0085.005: Develop Book, T0146: Account Asset, T0148.006: Crowdfunding Platform), with the book later sold on Amazon marketplace (T0148.007: eCommerce Platform). |
| [T0121.001 Bypass Content Blocking](../../generated_pages/techniques/T0121.001.md) | IT00000440 The EU Disinfo Lab produced a report into disinformation published on crowdfunding platforms:<br><br><i>More worrisome is the direct monetisation of disinformation happening on crowdfunding platforms: on Kickstarter, we found a user openly raising money for a documentary project suggesting that COVID-19 is a conspiracy.</i><br><br>A Kickstarter user attempted to use the platform to fund production of a documentary (T0017: Conduct Fundraising, T0087: Develop Video-Based Content, T0146: Account Asset, T0148.006: Crowdfunding Platform).<br><br><i>On Patreon, we found several instances of direct monetisation of COVID-19 disinformation, including posts promoting a device allegedly protecting against COVID-19 and 5G, as well as posts related to the “Plandemic” conspiracy video, which gained attention on YouTube before being removed by the platform.<br><br>We also found an account called “Stranger than fiction” entirely dedicated to disinformation, which openly states that their content was “Banned by screwtube and fakebook, our videos have been viewed over a billion times.”</i><br><br>The “Stranger than fiction” user presented itself as an alternative news source which had been banned from other platforms (T0146: Account Asset, T0097.202: News Outlet Persona, T0121.001: Bypass Content Bocking, T0152.012: Subscription Service Platform).<br><br><i>On the US-based crowdfunding platform IndieGogo, EU DisinfoLab found a successful crowdfunding campaign of €133.903 for a book called Revolution Q. This book, now also available on Amazon, claims to be “Written for both newcomers and long-time QAnon fans alike, this book is a treasure-trove of information designed to help everyone weather The Storm.”</i><br><br>An IndieGogo account was used to gather funds to produce a book on QAnon (T0017: Conduct Fundraising, T0085.005: Develop Book, T0146: Account Asset, T0148.006: Crowdfunding Platform), with the book later sold on Amazon marketplace (T0148.007: eCommerce Platform). |
| [T0146 Account Asset](../../generated_pages/techniques/T0146.md) | IT00000438 The EU Disinfo Lab produced a report into disinformation published on crowdfunding platforms:<br><br><i>More worrisome is the direct monetisation of disinformation happening on crowdfunding platforms: on Kickstarter, we found a user openly raising money for a documentary project suggesting that COVID-19 is a conspiracy.</i><br><br>A Kickstarter user attempted to use the platform to fund production of a documentary (T0017: Conduct Fundraising, T0087: Develop Video-Based Content, T0146: Account Asset, T0148.006: Crowdfunding Platform).<br><br><i>On Patreon, we found several instances of direct monetisation of COVID-19 disinformation, including posts promoting a device allegedly protecting against COVID-19 and 5G, as well as posts related to the “Plandemic” conspiracy video, which gained attention on YouTube before being removed by the platform.<br><br>We also found an account called “Stranger than fiction” entirely dedicated to disinformation, which openly states that their content was “Banned by screwtube and fakebook, our videos have been viewed over a billion times.”</i><br><br>The “Stranger than fiction” user presented itself as an alternative news source which had been banned from other platforms (T0146: Account Asset, T0097.202: News Outlet Persona, T0121.001: Bypass Content Bocking, T0152.012: Subscription Service Platform).<br><br><i>On the US-based crowdfunding platform IndieGogo, EU DisinfoLab found a successful crowdfunding campaign of €133.903 for a book called Revolution Q. This book, now also available on Amazon, claims to be “Written for both newcomers and long-time QAnon fans alike, this book is a treasure-trove of information designed to help everyone weather The Storm.”</i><br><br>An IndieGogo account was used to gather funds to produce a book on QAnon (T0017: Conduct Fundraising, T0085.005: Develop Book, T0146: Account Asset, T0148.006: Crowdfunding Platform), with the book later sold on Amazon marketplace (T0148.007: eCommerce Platform). |
| [T0148.006 Crowdfunding Platform](../../generated_pages/techniques/T0148.006.md) | IT00000437 The EU Disinfo Lab produced a report into disinformation published on crowdfunding platforms:<br><br><i>More worrisome is the direct monetisation of disinformation happening on crowdfunding platforms: on Kickstarter, we found a user openly raising money for a documentary project suggesting that COVID-19 is a conspiracy.</i><br><br>A Kickstarter user attempted to use the platform to fund production of a documentary (T0017: Conduct Fundraising, T0087: Develop Video-Based Content, T0146: Account Asset, T0148.006: Crowdfunding Platform).<br><br><i>On Patreon, we found several instances of direct monetisation of COVID-19 disinformation, including posts promoting a device allegedly protecting against COVID-19 and 5G, as well as posts related to the “Plandemic” conspiracy video, which gained attention on YouTube before being removed by the platform.<br><br>We also found an account called “Stranger than fiction” entirely dedicated to disinformation, which openly states that their content was “Banned by screwtube and fakebook, our videos have been viewed over a billion times.”</i><br><br>The “Stranger than fiction” user presented itself as an alternative news source which had been banned from other platforms (T0146: Account Asset, T0097.202: News Outlet Persona, T0121.001: Bypass Content Bocking, T0152.012: Subscription Service Platform).<br><br><i>On the US-based crowdfunding platform IndieGogo, EU DisinfoLab found a successful crowdfunding campaign of €133.903 for a book called Revolution Q. This book, now also available on Amazon, claims to be “Written for both newcomers and long-time QAnon fans alike, this book is a treasure-trove of information designed to help everyone weather The Storm.”</i><br><br>An IndieGogo account was used to gather funds to produce a book on QAnon (T0017: Conduct Fundraising, T0085.005: Develop Book, T0146: Account Asset, T0148.006: Crowdfunding Platform), with the book later sold on Amazon marketplace (T0148.007: eCommerce Platform). |
| [T0148.007 eCommerce Platform](../../generated_pages/techniques/T0148.007.md) | IT00000443 The EU Disinfo Lab produced a report into disinformation published on crowdfunding platforms:<br><br><i>More worrisome is the direct monetisation of disinformation happening on crowdfunding platforms: on Kickstarter, we found a user openly raising money for a documentary project suggesting that COVID-19 is a conspiracy.</i><br><br>A Kickstarter user attempted to use the platform to fund production of a documentary (T0017: Conduct Fundraising, T0087: Develop Video-Based Content, T0146: Account Asset, T0148.006: Crowdfunding Platform).<br><br><i>On Patreon, we found several instances of direct monetisation of COVID-19 disinformation, including posts promoting a device allegedly protecting against COVID-19 and 5G, as well as posts related to the “Plandemic” conspiracy video, which gained attention on YouTube before being removed by the platform.<br><br>We also found an account called “Stranger than fiction” entirely dedicated to disinformation, which openly states that their content was “Banned by screwtube and fakebook, our videos have been viewed over a billion times.”</i><br><br>The “Stranger than fiction” user presented itself as an alternative news source which had been banned from other platforms (T0146: Account Asset, T0097.202: News Outlet Persona, T0121.001: Bypass Content Bocking, T0152.012: Subscription Service Platform).<br><br><i>On the US-based crowdfunding platform IndieGogo, EU DisinfoLab found a successful crowdfunding campaign of €133.903 for a book called Revolution Q. This book, now also available on Amazon, claims to be “Written for both newcomers and long-time QAnon fans alike, this book is a treasure-trove of information designed to help everyone weather The Storm.”</i><br><br>An IndieGogo account was used to gather funds to produce a book on QAnon (T0017: Conduct Fundraising, T0085.005: Develop Book, T0146: Account Asset, T0148.006: Crowdfunding Platform), with the book later sold on Amazon marketplace (T0148.007: eCommerce Platform). |
| [T0152.012 Subscription Service Platform](../../generated_pages/techniques/T0152.012.md) | IT00000441 The EU Disinfo Lab produced a report into disinformation published on crowdfunding platforms:<br><br><i>More worrisome is the direct monetisation of disinformation happening on crowdfunding platforms: on Kickstarter, we found a user openly raising money for a documentary project suggesting that COVID-19 is a conspiracy.</i><br><br>A Kickstarter user attempted to use the platform to fund production of a documentary (T0017: Conduct Fundraising, T0087: Develop Video-Based Content, T0146: Account Asset, T0148.006: Crowdfunding Platform).<br><br><i>On Patreon, we found several instances of direct monetisation of COVID-19 disinformation, including posts promoting a device allegedly protecting against COVID-19 and 5G, as well as posts related to the “Plandemic” conspiracy video, which gained attention on YouTube before being removed by the platform.<br><br>We also found an account called “Stranger than fiction” entirely dedicated to disinformation, which openly states that their content was “Banned by screwtube and fakebook, our videos have been viewed over a billion times.”</i><br><br>The “Stranger than fiction” user presented itself as an alternative news source which had been banned from other platforms (T0146: Account Asset, T0097.202: News Outlet Persona, T0121.001: Bypass Content Bocking, T0152.012: Subscription Service Platform).<br><br><i>On the US-based crowdfunding platform IndieGogo, EU DisinfoLab found a successful crowdfunding campaign of €133.903 for a book called Revolution Q. This book, now also available on Amazon, claims to be “Written for both newcomers and long-time QAnon fans alike, this book is a treasure-trove of information designed to help everyone weather The Storm.”</i><br><br>An IndieGogo account was used to gather funds to produce a book on QAnon (T0017: Conduct Fundraising, T0085.005: Develop Book, T0146: Account Asset, T0148.006: Crowdfunding Platform), with the book later sold on Amazon marketplace (T0148.007: eCommerce Platform). |
