Website For MAGA-Friendly Businesses Backfires As People Use It For Boycotts

HuffPo:  Social media posts about PublicSquare have gone viral as Trump critics use it to find companies not to support – the opposite of what the site was set up for. A few years ago, Jeff was working for a California bank that asked him to look into getting the business listed on a website called PublicSquare. The bank’s leaders were big supporters of Donald Trump, and PublicSquare was an ideal place to advertise it: Its website, which bills itself as “the anti-woke online marketplace,” is a hub of tens of thousands of businesses nationwide that want people to know they align with MAGA views and oppose so-called “progressive priorities” like women’s reproductive rights and diversity initiatives. In order to list your business on the website, you first have to confirm that you will “respect the core values of PublicSquare” and agree not to “support causes that are in direct conflict with our core values.” “For far too long, American consumers and business owners who cherish family values and God-given liberty have been overlooked by mainstream businesses,” the company’s website states. “It’s time to embrace this community of customers and merchants by providing platforms, products, and services that enrich the way of life they hold dear.” The company also acknowledges its purpose of letting people use their dollars as political and cultural leverage. “PublicSquare is on a mission to restore the culture through the power of commerce,” its website says under a section called “Purpose with every purchase.” “This isn’t about boycotts, it’s about helping you switch to something better.”