Airbnb Cancels Bookings, Deletes Accounts Of People Attending White Supremacist Rally

Airbnb has taken a stand against white supremacists.

On Saturday, August 12, a "Unite The Right" white supremacist rally is scheduled to take place in Charlottesville, Virginia, and will include the likes of alt-right leader Richard Spencer. However, Airbnb has retaliated against users they believe are booking rentals in connection with the rally by not only canceling their rental but also shutting down their account.

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"After a routine review of your Airbnb account, we regret to inform you that we're no longer able to support your account due to a violation of our Terms of Service...Per our Terms of Service, Airbnb reserves the right to make the final determination with respect to such matters, and this decision will not be reversed," a message reads to those Airbnb users removed from using the vacation rental website.

Airbnb was made aware of the rentals when the website was informed of a thread from the neo-Nazi news website The Daily Stormer, where users had talked about hosting parties after the rally at their Airbnb rentals.

Participants of the event are also dealing with the city of Charlottesville. In a report from the New York Times, city officials have denied the request of the event's organizer, Jason Kessler, to hold the rally at Charlottesville's Emancipation Park, where a statue of Robert E. Lee stands. Officials have instead asked Kessler to have the demonstration at McIntire Park but the event organizer denied the request, saying that both Airbnb and the city government were attacking "free speech and civil rights."

Source: nytimes.com