The popular dating service OkCupid is the latest of several platforms to rescind its services from individuals involved in hate groups, including people who attended the #UniteTheRight rally last weekend in Charlottesville, Va.
Following those events, which saw one woman killed after a white nationalist protester drove into a crowd of protesters, OkCupid joins the likes of Google and Discord in efforts to de-platform individuals connected to hate groups.
The service posted its decision to ban white nationalist Chris Cantwell from using the service following his appearance in a Vice documentary about the event. He was also banned from Facebook.
“We were alerted that white supremacist Chris Cantwell was on OkCupid,” wrote the service on Twitter. “Within 10 minutes we banned him for life.”
“There is no room for hate in a place where you’re looking for love,” continued OkCupid, which also requested its users to report any other suspected white supremacists for investigation, offering a link to the service’s feedback form.
Speaking to Gizmodo, company CEO Elie Seidman said: “OkCupid has zero tolerance for racism. We make a lot of [decisions] every day that are tough. Banning Christopher Cantwell was not one of them.”
In the Vice documentary, Cantwell advocated violence in service to the creation of a white “ethno-state.” He also expressed his disapproval of Ivanka Trump’s marriage to Jared Kushner.
“I’m here to spread ideas, talk, in the hopes that somebody more capable will come along … somebody like Donald Trump who does not give his daughter to a Jew,” he said, expressing that his ideal leader would be someone “a lot more racist” than Trump.
Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter and on Facebook.
