Last Updated on October 11, 2022
Payment processing giant PayPal is under fire from upset customers after the company announced a plan to fine users $2,500 for the promotion of “misinformation.” After widespread calls for a boycott and the mass cancellation of accounts by users, PayPal’s stock price continued to drop — dipping despite the company’s walk-back of the policy, which they blamed on an “error” in publishing. PayPal shares were down nearly 6% when trading ended on Friday, and are down close to 66% on the year.
Over the past year to date (YTD) the stock of PayPal is down some 66% with a market value loss of over $9.5 billion.
Over the past month, PayPal shares are down nearly 13.5%.
And in the past 24 hours?
A 24-hour drop of over 2.34%.
Long-time users of the service were quick to both express their displeasure and their plans to terminate usage of the service.
Documentary filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza was one of them, who called for a DOJ investigation into the payment processing giant.
“Shouldn’t the DOJ open an investigation into PayPal? Is it legal for a bank to make a plan to steal from and defraud its own customers? If Wells Fargo and Citibank can’t take your money for having the ‘wrong’ opinion, why should PayPal?” D’Souza asked.
Shouldn’t the DOJ open an investigation into @PayPal ? Is it legal for a bank to make a plan to steal from and defraud its own customers? If Wells Fargo and Citibank can’t take your money for having the “wrong” opinion, why should PayPal?
— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) October 9, 2022
“The only way to hold companies like PayPal accountable is to stop giving them your hard earned money,” ACT for America Chairwoman Brigitte Gabriel said.
The only way to hold companies like PayPal accountable is to stop giving them your hard earned money.
— Brigitte Gabriel (@ACTBrigitte) October 11, 2022
“This is bizarre and scary. Talk about chutzpah…PayPal gets to decide what it’s users say and then penalize them? Get out of here. I’m canceling them today,” Wall Street analyst Charles V Payne said on Sunday.
This is bizarre and scary. Talk about chutzpah…PayPal gets to decide what it's users say and then penalize them? Get out of here. I'm canceling them today. pic.twitter.com/aI67Mvsfci
— Charles V Payne (@cvpayne) October 9, 2022
Some PayPal users were already in the process of account cancellation on Saturday.
I called PayPal today and asked for my accounts to be closed.
It was long overdue.
They do nothing but extort people's hard-earned money.
— Addy Adds (@OneAddyAdds) October 8, 2022
“PayPal’s value is down $6 billion and ‘delete PayPal’ google searches have soared 1,300%. Go work, go broke!” former Trump official George Papadopoulos added.
PayPal’s value is down $6 billion and ‘delete PayPal’ google searches have soared 1,300%
Go woke, go broke!
— George Papadopoulos (@GeorgePapa19) October 11, 2022
Founder of The Intercept and established journalist, Glenn Greenwald, offered his take.
“Paypal has been leading this truly dangerous effort to banish people from the financial system for expressing dissent from neoliberal orthodoxies. They partnered with the Anti-Defamation League – a standard DNC/liberal group – to identify ‘extremist’ who deserve to be banned,” Greenwald said.
Paypal has been leading this truly dangerous effort to banish people from the financial system for expressing dissent from neoliberal orthodoxies. They partnered with @ADL – a standard DNC/liberal group – to identify "extremists" who deserve to be banned.https://t.co/kHZwHHqZgw
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) October 10, 2022
Correspondent for Rebel News Australia, Avi Yemini, pulled no punches in his assessment.
“Good. I hope the trend continues and PayPal is bankrupted. It’ll be well deserved, [sic]” Yemini stated.
Good. I hope the trend continues and PayPal is bankrupted.
It’ll be well deserved. https://t.co/wtJwBpyAao
— Avi Yemini (@OzraeliAvi) October 11, 2022
For an unknown reason, the citizens of Idaho have led the charge of PayPal account cancellations.
Idaho citizens have far and away submitted the most Google searches of the term “delete paypal account” over the past seven days. For whatever reason, the Gem State seems to have had enough with PayPal, and they are not the only ones.
