For some hardcore Trump supporters like Ben Philips, of Bloomburg, Pennsylvania, increases the revenue earned by the site, an existing pro-MAGA business. Philips is the owner of the Trumparoo toy business, which makes stuffed kangaroo toys with a Trump-like lump of orange hair that he sells to passengers in the trailers he organizes on Eventbrite, which cost $ 25 per person. (Eventbrite usually charges $ .79 per ticket sold plus 4.5% fee for ticket sales on its platform.)
On January 6, Philips died on the steps of Capitol Hill due to a sudden stroke, hours after unloading a van full of Trump supporters, which he met on the spot at the presidential rally. Philadelphia investigator. Passengers learned of Philips’ death when he did not return to the van. After several calls to his cell phone, a passenger received a call from Washington police informing them that Philips was dead.
Philips’ Eventbrite messages regularly used fire steel to advertise its ride-sharing service, telling fans: “It’s back to 1776, if we do not fight now, we’re losing our country,” reminding passengers to “be ready for to fight the trump card! ”
Philips’ post for the January 6 rally was removed earlier this week, although some of his other posts are still active at the site. Eventbrite officials tell Billboard that the company daily removes content such as Philips’ message and has made significant investments in content monitoring through self-reporting tools and algorithmic monitoring.
“Our community guidelines prohibit events, content or creators who share or promote violence, illegal activities and / or misinformation that could lead to harm,” the company wrote in a statement. Billboard. ‘In light of the uprising on 6 January, we regard events that fuel false allegations about the 2020 election as a violation of our harmful policy of misinformation. Any event, content or creator that wants to hinder democracy is not welcome on our platform. We remain vigilant and will continue to give priority to the speedy removal of such events when we become aware of them. ”
Eventbrite has had an awkward relationship with Trump since he embraced the platform during the 2016 Iowa Republican presidential caucus. In 2016, white nationalist Richard Spencer was allowed to list two events on the platform, and has drawn widespread criticism from groups such as the Southern Poverty Law Center. After the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where one protester died, Eventbrite CEO Julia Hartz begins to ban well-known hate groups such as the Proud Boys and anti-Islam activists Brigitte Tudor.
The decision in 2020 to ban ‘harmful misinformation’ from its self-service ticket system came as the company was finalizing the end of Eventbrite Music, a feature-rich ticket platform run by some of the country’s biggest promoters used but struggled to grow. losses further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. On September 30, the company set aside a $ 50 million reserve fund to cover losses on refunds and refunds of its music product.
Self-service tickets were Eventbrite’s original business model, and a full return is expected to put the company back on track for profitability. But monitoring millions of users requires considerable resources.
While Eventbrite has quickly established that high-profile events such as the March 13 march violate the company’s community guidelines, Trump supporters like Ashley Weiss and Reggie Skyrock of Skyrock Patriots had no problem using the platform to sell 400 bus tickets at the Jan. 6 rally – even after being called by various media outlets to sell non-refundable bus tickets after a second Trump inauguration they promised that they would take place once. Electoral President Joe Biden’s election victory was overturned. (The Trump inauguration tickets were still on sale in late December).
Billboard contacted Weiss and Skyrock for comment, but received no response.
In all, on January 6, Weiss and Skyrock ordered the transportation of nine buses to transport Trump supporters from Joppa and White Marsh, Maryland, to Washington DC. The 406 available seats are priced at $ 50 per seat, according to Skyrock’s listing page, generating $ 20,300 in sales. . Eventbrite usually charges users 4.5% of the sales plus an amount of $ .79 per ticket, which means that these sales generated approximately $ 1,200 for Eventbrite.
Trump supporters also use the platform on a smaller scale: Peter Boykin with the group, Gays for Trumps, says he regularly sets up microphones at rallies where everyone can talk and raise money through Eventbrite’s donation engine. (Eventbrite charges a 2.5% processing fee for donations collected on the platform).
‘If you pose direct threats to people and keep your comments fairly general, [Eventbrite] will not bother you, ”says Boykin, noting that statements about ‘fighting for your country’ are usually OK, but making direct accusations against people or groups about the election is’ what usually gets people in trouble. . ‘
An Eventbrite official confirmed to Billboard that the company considered Skyrock and Philip’s posts to be in violation of their new policy and removed archived copies. To enhance its existing moderation efforts, Eventbrite has partnered with Civic Alliance, a two-party group that encourages voter participation and civic engagement.
“We have also made a statement with our partners at the Civic Alliance calling for an orderly and peaceful transfer of power,” the company said in a lengthy statement. Billboard. “Through this partnership, we stand united with hundreds of other businesses and peer-to-peer platforms at a critical moment to protect the integrity of our electoral process and the functioning of our democratic institutions.”
Eventbrite’s full statement can be found here.