Eventbrite repeatedly cancels conservative speakers and events

Eventbrite repeatedly cancels conservative speakers and events
University of California at Berkeley experiencing wave of antifa violence, 1 Feb 2017. (Image: Screen grab of ABC 7 SF video, YouTube)

Popular ticketing platform Eventbrite has recently canceled ticketed events for at least nine conservative events, claiming that a few of them constitute “hate” or “harassment.”

Two weeks ago, Eventbrite removed an event page for a Matt Walsh speech about transgenderism at Stanford University. Organizers were forced to set up an alternative event page at the last minute, just before Walsh’s appearance. When Eventbrite removed the page, “Hundreds of registered attendees were surprised to receive emails from the company informing them that their tickets had been canceled,” noted the event’s organizer, Young America’s Foundation, in a Feb. 27 press release. “Tickets in this order have been voided and will no longer grant entry,” according to an Eventbrite email sent to attendees, a screenshot of which YAF posted to its website.

In September, Eventbrite refused to ticket Matt Walsh speech about transgenderism at Western Kentucky University. When it did so, it cited “a policy that forbids hate and harassment” as justification.

In November, Eventbrite canceled ticketing for a November Matt Walsh speech at the University of California, Berkeley. YAF noted. “They’ve also taken down pages advertising independent screenings of his documentary by conservative campus groups and a community parent association.” Eventbrite canceled ticketing to at least three other conservative events on college campuses in 2022.

Eventbrite is canceling conservative events far away from college campuses, too.

It canceled a 2022 Memorial Day event by the conservative public interest group American Constitutional Rights Union that honored veterans and featuring the former chairman of the Texas GOP. Eventbrite stopped “all ticket sales, saying that the event honoring the fallen does not comply with Eventbrite’s ‘Community Guidelines,’” without further elaboration. “The particular issue appeared to be a component of the event, which would offer free ammunition and a new firearm to one of America’s heroes,” says the ACRU. “It appears to be lost on Eventbrite that the veterans and military being honored actually used weapons to defend our freedom.”

In June 2022, it canceled ticketing and payments for a screening of conservative author Dinesh D’Souza’s documentary “2,000 Mules” sponsored by the Louisiana GOP at its annual convention.

In January 2023, it canceled ticketing for a conservative documentary on the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.

In March 2023, it canceled ticketing for a “March for our Military” event in Texas. “It is still a mystery as to why Eventbrite canceled the event. One possible conclusion is that Eventbrite management may be liberal and not believe in our treasured Second Amendment rights,” the group stated on its website.

Eventbrite says it “is a global self-service ticketing platform” with a mission “to bring the world together through live experiences.” In 2021, it reportedly ticketed 5 million events with 291 million tickets.

When it canceled ticketing for the March 1 Walsh speech, Eventbrite stated the event “does actually violate our Terms of Service,” but did not explain how. The event was part of Walsh’s tour for his “What Is a Woman?” documentary, produced by The Daily Wire.

When canceling ticketing for the D’Souza screening of “2,000 Mules,” a documentary alleging voter fraud in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Eventbrite claimed the documentary constituted “potentially harmful misinformation.”

Eventbrite’s “Community Guidelines” list several types of banned content that can trigger the cancellation of ticketing for an event: hateful content, misinformation, and bullying.

Eventbrite describes its rule against “hateful content” as banning “hate speech, hateful ideologies, and hateful activities that incite, encourage or engage in violence, intimidation, disparagement, harassment, or threats targeting an individual or group based on their actual or perceived race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, immigration status, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, or veteran status.”

 

LU Staff

LU Staff

Promoting and defending liberty, as defined by the nation’s founders, requires both facts and philosophical thought, transcending all elements of our culture, from partisan politics to social issues, the workings of government, and entertainment and off-duty interests. Liberty Unyielding is committed to bringing together voices that will fuel the flame of liberty, with a dialogue that is lively and informative.

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