Amazon Will Allow You to Donate to Any Charity—Provided it's Approved by the Biased Southern Poverty Law Center

Dustin Siggins : Dec 10, 2014
LifeSiteNews

"Most disturbing of all is the fact that the Southern Poverty Law Center has been linked to domestic terrorism in federal court." -Jerry Boykin, Family Research Council

(Seattle, WA)—Amazon's philanthropy page, AmazonSmile, prides itself on the fact that customers can choose to donate one-half of one percent of their purchase to charitable organizations of virtually any political stripe—as long as their views are approved by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

AmazonSmile's general manager Ian McAllister told the Seattle Times that "Amazon prides itself on being customer-centric," and has "structured [AmazonSmile] to put customers in control, and we feel good about that decision." A spokesperson for Oregon Right to Life told the Seattle Times that the group is "really pleased about how easy it is for pro-lifers to donate."

But those customers cannot give to any organization designated by the SPLC as a "hate group."

"No one should rely on the Southern Poverty Law Center's inaccurate and biased data," Family Research Council Executive Vice President Jerry Boykin told LifeSiteNews. FRC was targeted by a domestic terrorist on the basis of the SPLC's data.

"Concerns about SPLC's lack of credibility only continue to grow," Boykin said. "The FBI has removed links to the SPLC from its 'hate crimes resources' page, and the Department of Defense along with the U.S. Army have distanced themselves from SPLC's materials."

"Most disturbing of all is the fact that the Southern Poverty Law Center has been linked to domestic terrorism in federal court," Boykin added.

SPLC's critics have long pointed to the difference between the SPLC's definition of a hate group and the FBI's definition of a hate crime.

"What will Amazon do next, ban books that it doesn't agree with?" asked Dan Gainor, vice president of business and culture at the Media Research Center. "It's shocking to see Jeff Bezos, who owns Amazon and The Washington Post, take a position that silences speech."