Back in 2015, I donated $200 to a site hosting banned political cartoons from Russia.

The site got taken down a year later, and the organizers vanished with all the funds. It was a hard lesson that supporting free speech in other places can be a real gamble. Has anyone else lost money trying to back a banned publication that just disappeared?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_riley6d ago

Happens way too often, and not just with political stuff. I see a version of this when people overpay for a trendy new houseplant that dies in a week. The pattern is putting faith and money into something unstable because you believe in the idea. The risk is always there when the whole operation is built on shaky ground, whether it's a secret website or a flashy startup. You learn to look past the good cause and check if the foundation is solid.

ericfox6d ago

Yeah, that's a tough spot. After I got burned backing a newsletter that folded, I started asking for real receipts and a public budget before sending cash. @the_riley is right about checking the foundation. I look for a clear plan on how the money gets spent, not just a good cause. If they can't show that basic level of openness, I walk away now. It saved me from funding a podcast that was clearly just a guy's hobby he wanted others to pay for.