ANDREW CONRU AND HIS PHILANTHROPIC ACTIVITIES

Below is a blog post that I submitted on Adult FriendFinder yesterday. Perhaps not surprisingly, it was denied twice. I'm posting it here for safekeeping.

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MESSAGE TO BROCK PURPURA, FRIENDFINDER NETWORKS' CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

I'd be very grateful if Site Support could pass this message to Brock Purpura, the chief executive officer of FriendFinder Networks, the online dating company that runs Adult FriendFinder and other dating platforms, or at least alert him to this message. Many thanks.

Before going on, I want to stress that this blog post is factual and in no way is it intended to be inflammatory, quite the opposite. The post doesn't contravene the site's terms of use so I very much hope it will get approved for release when reviewed.

Many members here are very concerned about recent news about Andrew Conru, the owner of FriendFinder Networks, and particularly news of his philanthropic activities.

The news became public late last week. The news is based on the investigative work of the pressure group, Hope not Hate, set up in Britain to counter racism and fascism. Recently it has compiled a dossier on the Human Diversity Foundation which, according to Wikipedia, is "a far-right organization founded in 2022 to promote 'race science', remigration and white nationalism."

Hope not Hate's investigations, including undercover investigations, found that Andrew Conru has substantially funded the work of the Human Diversity Foundation. Furthermore, it also found that Andrew Conru has donated money to other far-right groups and individuals, such as Turning Point USA, the Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology, the Holocaust-denying Ron Unz, the far-right YouTuber Simon Webb, and the American white nationalist Jared Taylor.

In the first comment below are two webpage links about Hope not Hate's investigations into the Human Diversity Foundation and Andrew Conru.

On 16 October The Guardian, a reputable British national newspaper, published a piece about the work of the Human Diversity Foundation. The newspaper worked with the Hope not Hate organisation and partnering German newspapers. The Guardian's journalists found that an "international network of 'race science' activists seeking to influence public debate with discredited ideas on race and eugenics has been operating with secret funding from a multimillionaire US tech entrepreneur."

A spokesperson stated that Andrew Conru rejected racism and "has cut ties with the Human Diversity Foundation, ceased his funding, and ordered an immediate review of governance processes across all of his philanthropic activities to ensure such a situation does not arise again."

The webpage link to The Guardian article can be found in the first comment below.

At 10pm tonight (Monday, 21 October), Channel 4, a respected British television broadcaster, is airing a documentary called Undercover: Exposing the Far Right about the Human Diversity Foundation and Andrew Conru's involvement in funding the outfit.

The ongoing London Film Festival recently pulled the showing of Hope not Hate's documentary to be also broadcast on Channel 4 because of safety concerns. The festival organisers were worried that far-right thugs would target its staff and audience members if the documentary was shown.

Given the close links between British and American media outlets, it's highly likely that the news about Andrew Conru's involvement with the Human Diversity Foundation and other far-right projects will be reported, if not already, in America.

Now just stepping back a bit. I'm aware that some people will be unconcerned about Andrew Conru's philanthropic activities on the basis that he can do what he likes with his monies and/or that they support the far-right projects he has funded. I'm also aware that many people will be deeply concerned and even alarmed at Andrew Conru's philanthropic dalliances with the far-right.

I'm aware that some people will argue that the case against Andrew Conru hasn't been sufficiently proven and that what he did was at best naïve and down to a lack of due diligence. I'm also aware that other people will believe that the case against Andrew Conru has been sufficiently proven and that there's a far-right pattern to Andrew Conru's philanthropic activities making his funding of the Human Diversity Foundation not a one-off episode. Only Andrew Conru knows what his intentions were then and what they are now.

However, having said all that and regardless of where people stand in the debate, Andrew Conru's philanthropy constitutes a significant reputational and consequent financial risk to the site. I can't imagine banks and credit card companies, essential in processing payments to the site, advertisers, financers and other shareholders being happy about the situation. I assume these stakeholders don't want to be tainted by association with the far-right. Also I can't imagine many of the site's staff being happy with the situation as jobs may be at risk.

When I first heard about the story I instinctively didn't want to believe that it was true. But from where I'm standing, the facts are stacking up pretty high. I was hoping for a statement from Andrew Conru to convincingly debunk the claims and/or at least a statement from the site to offer clarification on the situation. Andrew Conru seems to have gone into hiding. The silence has been deafening.

I'm asking the site's chief executive officer, Brock Purpura, to issue a statement or even leave a comment below clarifying things and outlining how the site intends to move forward in light of recent developments. I'm sure many members will appreciate such a statement.

PS. I'm not apologising for the length of this blog post!