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"Most importantly, we raised over $60,000 in donations from people who hoped to get special treatment within our fabled waitlist." Isn't this basically fraud?

"Most importantly, we raised over $60,000 in donations from people who hoped to get special treatment within our fabled waitlist." Isn't this basically fraud? "Hey, give us money and we'll help you get something. Nope, just kidding, we gave your money to charity and that 'something' we promised doesn't exist."

aripickar 6y ago
It was more of a case of "Donate money to these causes and see what happens". Not fraud
- amingilani 6y ago
  I'd say it's borderline fraud. They've been retweeting app screenshots with that emoji combination on it[0], retweeting people saying someone took their "username on that emoji app"[1], and directly tweeted "we’ll see what we can do about an invite" if people donated and sent receipts. And now they're using this publicity to gain employment and sell merchandise. This team mislead people to "support causes" and is now profiting off their newfound fame. I have nothing against non-profits getting more money, but...I'm not sure if I'm happy about this situation here. The ends really don't justify the means. [0]: https://twitter.com/itsmezhi/status/1276617354013626368?s=20 https://twitter.com/itsmezhi/status/1276617354013626368?s=20 [1]: https://twitter.com/itiseyemoutheye/status/1276426502943518720?s=20 https://twitter.com/itiseyemoutheye/status/12764265029435187... [2]: https://twitter.com/itiseyemoutheye/status/1276650368420765697?s=20 https://twitter.com/itiseyemoutheye/status/12766503684207656...
  - tedunangst 6y ago
    Tangentially, if you donate money and receive something tangible, then deduct the full amount from your taxes, that's tax fraud. Maybe giving donors nothing in return is just their way to help prevent inadvertent tax trouble.
  - geofft 6y ago
    I think this is what we used to call "growth hacking..."
  - iieme 6y ago
    You're missing a lottt of context here, bud
    - amingilani 6y ago
      If you'd like to provide it, I'm all ears.
Natsu 6y ago
It's also interesting that this was timed right around the release of Parler, a Twitter alternative.
- sukilot 6y ago
  Parler is 2 years old and not exclusive. It just got popular this week thanks to some Twitter influencers and due to the founder requesting peot to join.
  - Natsu 6y ago
    Huh, I didn't know that. This week was the first I'd heard of it.
  - pfraze 6y ago
    Had to look it up. It's another social media play like Gab that uses "free speech" to mean "pro alt right." Every one of their product screenshots is of a pro-Trump story. EDIT: https://parler.com/auth/access https://parler.com/auth/access
    - weare138 6y ago
      Here's a screenshot from Parler's site showing their promoted news sources. It pretty much sums up Parler: https://i.imgur.com/2Lb8kwB.png https://i.imgur.com/2Lb8kwB.png
    - ALittleLight 6y ago
      I think what people actually need, and probably would want, is a less free speech alternative. Like, you're banned from being rude, crass, or offensive. In general, I like the idea of free speech, but to my intuition "free speech" seems like philosophers daring to go anywhere their minds will take them regardless of mainstream norms, political correctness, or commonly held beliefs. In practice, "free speech" is just people being jerks and saying mean things.
      - dionian 6y ago

aripickar 6y ago

It was more of a case of "Donate money to these causes and see what happens". Not fraud

amingilani 6y ago
I'd say it's borderline fraud. They've been retweeting app screenshots with that emoji combination on it[0], retweeting people saying someone took their "username on that emoji app"[1], and directly tweeted "we’ll see what we can do about an invite" if people donated and sent receipts. And now they're using this publicity to gain employment and sell merchandise. This team mislead people to "support causes" and is now profiting off their newfound fame. I have nothing against non-profits getting more money, but...I'm not sure if I'm happy about this situation here. The ends really don't justify the means. [0]: https://twitter.com/itsmezhi/status/1276617354013626368?s=20 https://twitter.com/itsmezhi/status/1276617354013626368?s=20 [1]: https://twitter.com/itiseyemoutheye/status/1276426502943518720?s=20 https://twitter.com/itiseyemoutheye/status/12764265029435187... [2]: https://twitter.com/itiseyemoutheye/status/1276650368420765697?s=20 https://twitter.com/itiseyemoutheye/status/12766503684207656...
- tedunangst 6y ago
  Tangentially, if you donate money and receive something tangible, then deduct the full amount from your taxes, that's tax fraud. Maybe giving donors nothing in return is just their way to help prevent inadvertent tax trouble.
- geofft 6y ago
  I think this is what we used to call "growth hacking..."
- iieme 6y ago
  You're missing a lottt of context here, bud
  - amingilani 6y ago
    If you'd like to provide it, I'm all ears.

Natsu 6y ago

It's also interesting that this was timed right around the release of Parler, a Twitter alternative.

sukilot 6y ago
Parler is 2 years old and not exclusive. It just got popular this week thanks to some Twitter influencers and due to the founder requesting peot to join.
- Natsu 6y ago
  Huh, I didn't know that. This week was the first I'd heard of it.
- pfraze 6y ago
  Had to look it up. It's another social media play like Gab that uses "free speech" to mean "pro alt right." Every one of their product screenshots is of a pro-Trump story. EDIT: https://parler.com/auth/access https://parler.com/auth/access
  - weare138 6y ago
    Here's a screenshot from Parler's site showing their promoted news sources. It pretty much sums up Parler: https://i.imgur.com/2Lb8kwB.png https://i.imgur.com/2Lb8kwB.png
  - ALittleLight 6y ago
    I think what people actually need, and probably would want, is a less free speech alternative. Like, you're banned from being rude, crass, or offensive. In general, I like the idea of free speech, but to my intuition "free speech" seems like philosophers daring to go anywhere their minds will take them regardless of mainstream norms, political correctness, or commonly held beliefs. In practice, "free speech" is just people being jerks and saying mean things.
    - dionian 6y ago