Campaign to buy Twitter and ban Trump raises $64,000

An American ex-CIA agent has set out to raise enough money to buy Twitter. She then wants to make sure that President Donald Trump can no longer use the service. So far, $64,000 of the targeted $1 billion has been received.

A week ago, Valerie Plame Wilson announced her plan via Twitter and wrote“If Twitter administrators don’t want to stop Trump’s hatred and violence, we have to do it ourselves.” In the post, she linked to a Gofundme page, where people can donate money to help reach the $1 billion goal. The page states that the money will be used to acquire a majority stake in Twitter.

If that doesn’t work, then at least the money should be enough to buy a large share and thus exert influence, the statement said. If this proves impossible or if there is money left over, the proceeds will go to the organization Global Zero, which fights against nuclear war. For now, reaching the campaign’s goal seems a long way off, making it more like a fundraiser for this organization.

White House press officer Sarah Huckabee Sanders did respond to the call to the Associated Press, saying the low amount is a sign that Americans love the president’s Twitter use. The appeal would aim to silence the president and would be an expression of hatred and intolerance.

The Associated Press reports that Plame Wilson’s identity as a CIA agent was revealed in 2003 by someone in the Bush administration. This would have been intended to put her husband in a bad light. He had been critical of the war in Iraq. Her story is featured in the 2010 film Fair Game.