Vimeo Categorized the Christian Faith as 'Hateful,' Blacklisted Group Says

On Friday, the global video platform Vimeo banned a Christian non-profit group, citing the far-left smear factory the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). The SPLC had accused the American Family Association (AFA) of being a "hate group," placing it on a list with notorious white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan. According to the SPLC, AFA is an "anti-LGBT hate group" largely because it espouses traditional Christian doctrine on marriage and sexuality.

"Vimeo has essentially characterized the Christian faith as 'hateful' because the Bible teaches that sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman is sinful. Yes, that includes homosexual activity," Ed Vitagliano, AFA's executive vice president, told PJ Media in a statement. "This has been Christian teaching for 2,000 years. Vimeo’s religious bigotry is appalling, and we reject the company’s heavy-handed censorship."

Vimeo told AFA the Christian group cannot have an account on its website "if you are a member of a terror or hate group," AFA President Tim Wildmon explained in a note to members on Friday. AFA protested that it was neither a terrorist group nor a hate group, but Vimeo responded with a letter citing the SPLC.

Even some prominent liberal leaders have criticized the SPLC for branding the Christian nonprofit law firm Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) a hate group. The SPLC's "hate map" inspired one deranged man to break into the Family Research Council, intending to kill everyone in the building. Luckily, his attack was foiled and he was convicted on terrorism charges. The SPLC faces defamation lawsuits due to its "hate group" attacks, and it has paid millions in damages after branding a Muslim reformer an "anti-Islamic extremist."

Despite all this, legacy media outlets, Big Tech, Corporate America, and Democrats widely cite the SPLC as the gold standard when it comes to identifying "hate groups." Amazon has excluded SPLC-accused "hate groups" from its charity platform. Apple has partnered with the SPLC in fighting "hate." Hyatt Hotels has blacklisted SPLC-accused "hate groups," as has the event-hosting platform Eventbrite. Last year, The New York Times, the Miami Herald, and the Tampa Bay Times repeated SPLC talking points and successfully pressured Mar-a-Lago to cancel a gala with the conservative group ACT for America.

Vimeo is not a small platform. A competitor to YouTube, the video platform has 170 million monthly viewers, 90 million registered members, and 715 million monthly views. Vimeo's selling point is an ad-free experience.

While YouTube considers the SPLC a "trusted flagger," it has not yet banned organizations outright just because the SPLC accuses them of being "hate groups."

Whatever the SPLC claims, its "hate" accusations really do target conservative Christians for their beliefs on sexuality.

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