YouTube is the latest company to ban “Stop the Steal” founder Ali Alexander from its platform.
It appears YouTube removed Alexander’s account over the weekend; as of Friday, January 15, the channel was still available, but has since been removed.
Platforms are banning Alexander for his role in the January 6 rally-turned-deadly-insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. According to Politico, Alexander claimed responsibility for the Washington, D.C., rally preceding the storming of the Capitol, saying before the event, “I was the person who came up with the Jan. 6 idea.” The insurrection caused five deaths, the spread of COVID-19 to at least three members of Congress, and other destruction. Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram have all permanently banned Alexander.
Alexander is still able to evade some platform bans using a secondary account
Although YouTube finally removed Alexander’s primary channel, the platform neglected to remove his far-right media startup’s channel Culttture.
Twitter and Facebook have both banned Culttture, but it remains available on YouTube and Instagram (even though Instagram is owned by Facebook).
Culttture’s Instagram account is private with 21,400 followers. Its bio was updated over the weekend, now saying, “Back Soon.” Considering what Alexander has been doing on other platforms, it is likely he is using Culttture's Instagram account to raise money for himself.
Culttture is still available on PayPal, even though the platform has banned Alexander.
Spotify and Apple Podcasts both still host Culttture’s podcast.
Platforms allowing these affiliated accounts to stay up are giving Alexander a route for ban evasion and a potential line of communication to thousands of his followers.
Fundraising platforms GiveSendGo and GumRoad still knowingly host Alexander
Alexander began fundraising on GiveSendGo after the Capitol insurrection, but was later blocked from receiving donations on the platform.
A contributing factor to this ban appears to be that several payment processors, including PayPal, explicitly banned Alexander from using its services and cut off GiveSendGo as a result.
But days later, GiveSendGo reinstated Alexander’s ability to receive donations.
According to a GiveSendGo tweet, it appears that the platform has acquired “alternate” payment processors. Those processors have yet to be disclosed.
Even though he’s banned from multiple fundraising sites, Alexander is still selling merchandise through Gumroad, an online platform that allows creators to sell products directly to consumers. T-shirts and mugs with Alexander’s mugshot printed on them are available on the platform, as well as merchandise accusing President-elect Joe Biden of being sick.
Gumroad explicitly prohibits users on the platform from inciting violence, yet Alexander’s account remains active as of January 19.
