Twitter is the primary communication platform for U.S. President Trump, but that hasn’t stopped staff of the social media company from donating to one of the most prominent organizations opposing him.
Nearly 1,000 employees made a $1.59 million donation to ACLU, which fought Trump’s recent executive order banning citizens of seven countries from entering the U.S. and is demanding that he reveal his tax returns. Initially, 925 Twitter staff pulled together a donation of over $530,000. That was then matched by CEO Jack Dorsey and Executive Chairman Omid Kordestani to take the total to $1.59 million, according a company-wide email obtained by TechCrunch.
A Twitter spokesperson confirmed the donation and the numbers involved.
“Our work is far from done. In the coming months we’ll see a flurry of legal challenges, legislative pushes and public pronouncements. But as long as civil liberties are threatened, I’m proud to know that as individuals we will stand up to defend freedom and look after people,” Twitter General Counsel Vijaya Gadde wrote in the memo.
It isn’t just Twitter that is donating to the cause. The ACLU raised over $24 million in donations this past weekend, six-times more than it did in the entirety of 2016, thanks to high-profile pledges from tech companies like Lyft, Google and a range of tech industry figures. In a further sign of support from Silicon Valley, the ACLU entered Y Combinator’s accelerator program this week where it will receive mentorship and guidance around areas like hiring, the use of technology and more.
02/01/17 21:45 PST Post updated to clarify that the donation came from Twitter staff not Twitter the company
Featured Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images