Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar blasted journalists who are following up with individuals who made small donations to the Freedom Convoy in Canada whose identities were revealed following the hack of GiveSendGo, a fundraising platform being used to back the trucker convoy and supporters protesting COVID-19 rules in the country.
The liberal Democrat labeled a tweet from Alison Mah, an editor with the Ottawa Citizen/Sun, as “unconscionable.” Mah’s tweet, which is now hidden from nonfollowers, discussed a report from her news outlet about a shop owner who expressed having “regrets” after donating $250 to the “truck convoy,” saying she thought it was a “peaceful, grassroots movement.” The tweet also said she “made the donation Feb. 5, when police were calling the protest ‘volatile and dangerous.'”
“I fail to see why any journalist felt the need to report on a shop owner making such a insignificant donation rather than to get them harassed,” Omar said in her tweet. “Journalists need to do better.”
I fail to see why any journalist felt the need to report on a shop owner making such a insignificant donation rather than to get them harassed. It’s unconscionable and journalists need to do better. https://t.co/oF7WIoS1jp
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) February 16, 2022
Omar’s tweet drew praise from some unexpected corners of the political spectrum, including Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
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The report in question focused on the Stella Luna Gelato Cafe, which it said closed down after the owner, Tammy Giuliani, began receiving threats when her name appeared after the breach of data from the Christian crowdfunding site, listing her as someone who donated to the convoy.
Giuliani wrote in a leaked post that she initially donated $100 but then asked for a refund after the money was frozen. “Now I’m giving you $250 and taking food down to the truckers every day. Thank you for continuing to fight for Canadians across this country,” she wrote.
Saagar Enjeti, also a journalist, shared on Twitter that the Washington Post was also reaching out to people whose donation information was leaked.
The Washington Post is contacting people whose donation info was leaked and who gave as little as 40 dollars to the truckers to ask them why they did so
Email provided to me by a source pic.twitter.com/qbzebYyHiP
— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) February 16, 2022
“Your name and email address are associated with a $40 contribution,” reads an email he said was from a source. “Could you please tell me if this matches your records, and either call or reply to this email to share what motivated you to contribute to the campaign?”
In a statement Wednesday, GiveSendGo acknowledged that its website was hacked Sunday but said “no credit card information was leaked. No money was stolen.” It said the company shut down the website following the hack and conducted several security audits before bringing the website back online.
GiveSendGo managed to get its website back up Tuesday. The Freedom Convoy has raised more than $9.5 million on the platform, topping the nearly $9 million the protesters raised on GoFundMe before being booted from the platform.
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Aubrey Cottle, a so-called cyberterrorist who is best known for his involvement in the hacktivist group Anonymous, took credit for hacking GiveSendGo in a TikTok video.
“Yes, I tossed the trucker. I hacked GiveSendGo, and I’d do it again. I’d do it a hundred times,” Cottle said. “I did it. I did it. Come at me. What are you going to do to me? I’m literally a famous f****** cyberterrorist, and you think that you can scare me?”
