Kerby Anderson

The latest cancel culture tactic is to publish the name and amount of charitable donations. Concern about revealing the names of donors has been a problem in the past. One example often cited is Brendan Eich, the Mozilla CEO who was removed from the company when critics discovered that he has donated to the California Proposition 8 campaign in 2008.

Given our toxic political culture, you can imagine the impact revealing donor names would have on future donations. Posting the names and donations to conservative causes and Christian ministries invites intimidation and harassment from the political left.

One group, with the name “Unmasking Fidelity,” wants to expose donors by demanding that Fidelity Charitable publicly reveal contributions to key organizations. Those include the Family Research Council, Turning Point USA, and Alliance Defending Freedom. The group argues that these organizations don’t deserve privacy since they are fascist and promote “white supremacy.”

The goal is to hurt these groups by targeting their donors. In fact, the ADF recently argued against a California law that effectively “doxed” donors and thereby exposed them to harassment and intimidation.

This targeting began before the recent Supreme Court decisions in favor of religious liberty and the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. This group (along with others with a similar desire) is even more eager to punish conservative groups and Christian groups.

If Fidelity were to cave to these demands, it is likely that other financial institutions would follow. That’s why I am thrilled that thousands of financial advisors and investment professionals have spoken out against this attempt at intimidation.