PayPal freezes Canadian media group’s account over story about Syrian family
TORONTO — A community newspaper’s payment to enter a feel-good story about a family of Syrian refugees in an awards competition prompted PayPal to freeze the account of a national media organization after flagging the suspicious transaction, The Canadian Press has learned.
The action by the U.S.-based Internet giant sparked dismay, anxiety and raised questions about Canadian autonomy.
“It’s quite scary about how insidious the security agenda has become,” said John Hinds, CEO of News Media Canada. “The demonization and racial profiling, that’s really scary, too.”
The weekly Flin Flon Reminder entered the article — titled “Syrian family adapts to new life” — last month as part of its submissions to the annual Canadian Community Newspaper Awards. The feature story from July 2016 outlines the challenges and triumphs as the family settled in the Manitoban town of 5,100 and the community’s willingness to make them feel welcome.