GoFundMe prevents fundraising from a controversial cancer clinic



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GoFundMe has become a staple for hospitalization and treatment bills. In fact, one-third of the crowdfunding campaign is fundraising in the medical field.

But, there are limits – and the company tries to apply them better. GoFundMe just banned (paywall) a cancer treatment campaign at a controversial oncology clinic, following concerns that patients and donors were being exploited, reports the Financial Times (Paywall).

The Hallwang Clinic in Dornstetten, Germany offers "advanced" alternative treatments, such as "high dose vitamin infusions" and "ozone treatment" for cancer patients. GoFundMe informed the center that he had to ask "other advice from medical experts" before it was allowed on the site.

"We are temporarily blocking new campaigns for the Hallwang Clinic while we are consulting with users and experts," GoFundMe said in a statement to FT. "GoFundMe respects the decisions of patients and their loved ones regarding their fundraising choices. We also recognize the tension between this openness and the need to ensure that people are able to make informed decisions, and we do more to contribute. "

GoFundMe's terms of service prohibit "fraudulent, deceptive, inaccurate, dishonest or impossible" content or campaigns, as well as "products alleging health effects that have not been approved or verified by the company." local and / or national regulatory body concerned. "The company has been criticized in the past for allowing campaigns that were reluctant to violate such conditions.

The crowdfunding company joins several other technology giants to fight against false health claims. Last month Pinterest blocked anti-vaccination research and actively deleted the associated content. Meanwhile, Facebook has removed dozens of pages devoted to alternative or holistic medicine as part of an apparent crackdown on pseudoscience.

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