CitizenGO
PredecessorHazteOir[1][2][3]
Founded2013 in Madrid, Spain
HeadquartersPaseo de la Habana 200, Madrid, Spain
Area served
Worldwide
MethodInternet activism, online petitions
Websitecitizengo.org

CitizenGO is an ultra-conservative[4][5][6][7][8][9] advocacy group founded in Madrid, Spain, in 2013 by the ultra-Catholic and far-right[10][11][12][13][14] HazteOir organization,[1][2][3] a similar Spanish platform that has been dedicated to the fight against "gender ideology" since 2001. [15]

The foundation aims to be "a community of active citizens that seeks to promote the participation of society in politics" and "defend and promote life, family, and liberty."[16] It promotes petitions in 50 countries, mostly defending Christian causes,[17][18] and those opposing same-sex marriage,[19][20] abortion,[17][21][22] and euthanasia.[23]

History

CitizenGO was founded in Madrid, Spain, in September 2013 by HazteOir, [1][18] (whose founder and president is also Ignacio Arsuaga),[15] to expand its scope of action beyond Spanish-speaking countries,[19] advancing the use of online petitions as a form of Internet activism to increase public participation in the democratic process.[16] In appealing to potential donors early into CitizenGO's existence, the founder and president Ignacio Arsuaga stated: "CitizenGO will produce a social benefit that we trust will impact human history. Abortionists, the homosexual lobby, radical secularists, and champions of relativism will find themselves behind CitizenGO’s containment wall".[24]

CitizenGO says that they have "team members located in fifteen cities on three continents" who facilitate users signing petitions in 50 countries[16] and 8 languages, with plans to add more. The CitizenGO Foundation is financially supported by online donations made by their members.[19] The CEO of CitizenGO is Álvaro Zulueta. The CitizenGO Foundation Board of Trustees is composed of Ignacio Arsuaga, Walter Hintz, Blanca Escobar, Luca Volontè (Unione dei Democratici Cristiani politician), Brian S. Brown (president of the anti-LGBT rights National Organization for Marriage),[25] Gualberto García, Alexey Komov (Russian Representative of the pro-Christian right World Congress of Families, considered a close ally of pro-Vladimir Putin oligarch Konstantin Malofeev),[26][27] Alejandro Bermudez, and John-Henry Westen.

Ignacio Arsuaga, founder and president of HazteOir and CitizenGo[18]

In 2001, lawyer Ignacio Arsuaga founded HazteOir (literally, "Make yourself heard"). This organization later merged into and became part of CitizenGO, a move that was considered a "rebranding".[2][3]

The foundation has been linked, like HazteOir, to El Yunque, a secret society of Mexican regional origin.[18][28][29][30]

In 2021, CitizenGO board member Luca Volontè was sentenced to four years in prison for accepting bribes from Azerbaijan during the Azerbaijani laundromat in exchange for suppressing a report on Azerbaijan's human rights record. Some of these laundered funds were transferred to CitizenGO.[24]

Activities

Abortion and euthanasia

CitizenGO promotes campaigns opposing abortion and euthanasia. CitizenGO has opposed the introduction of the "Estrela report" into the European parliament, which recommends member states to provide comprehensive sex education in schools and ensure access to abortions, among other things.[19]

In late May 2019, CitizenGO hosted a petition by "Right to Life" calling on streaming service Netflix to stop funding a legal challenge to Georgia's controversial heartbeat abortion restriction bill. The group also called for subscribers to cancel their Netflix subscription as a sign of protest.[31]

It has also supported African activist Ann Kioko's campaign to investigate pro-abortion rights group Marie Stopes International. After Kioko was put on trial CitizenGO utilized their platform to promote the idea that the Kenyan government wants to censor the protests of CitizenGO and other anti-abortion outlets.[32]

Police brutality

CitizenGO promoted a campaign when physically disabled Jennifer Swayne, a women's rights activist, was arrested for posting stickers on "domestic violence statistics and biological facts". The stickers evidently contained no illegal items. She was handled painfully at arrest, said to have been held for 10 hours without her medications, and the police went ahead to search her house on release. The case ended up with the Crown Prosecuting Service unable to charge her. [33][34]

Defense of the Russian gay propaganda law

In 2013, CitizenGO signed a declaration in support of the Russian law,[35][36] which had the stated purpose of protecting children from being exposed to homosexuality.

Second Coming comic series

In February 2019, CitizenGO organized a petition calling on DC Vertigo to cancel Mark Russell and Richard Pace's Second Coming comic series, which they regarded as blasphemous for its depiction of Jesus Christ.[37][38] Russell subsequently confirm that it had been his decision to request the return of the rights to the series.[39][40]

Anti-Walt Disney petition campaign by CitizenGo (2019)

2019 Disneyland "Magical Parade"

In late May 2018, CitizenGO circulated a petition calling on Disneyland Paris to cancel a scheduled pride parade called the "Magical Parade" on 1 June 2019.[41][42] The Walt Disney Company rejected the petition and the Magical Parade went ahead in Paris.[43][44]

LGBT rights and reproductive health misinformation campaign in Kenya

CitizenGO Africa opposes decriminalising homosexuality in Kenya.[45] According to a 2021 investigation by Mozilla Foundation, it also engaged in spreading misinformation concerning reproductive health policy in the country through a tweets and hashtags on Twitter as well as paying Kenyans to also tweet against debated legislation, which aimed to develop guidelines for surrogacy as well as improving reproductive health care and rights.[46][47]

Paradise PD TV series

CitizenGO started a campaign to have the episode "Trigger Warning" from the TV series Paradise PD removed from Netflix. This is because of a depiction of Jesus Christ, in which he is seen attacking his persecutors with machine guns and having sex with two women.[48]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "BOE.es – Documento BOE-A-2013-9106" (in Spanish).
  2. 1 2 3 "HazteOír desaparece dejando paso a CitizenGo". Infovaticana (in Spanish). 31 January 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 "Los ultracatólicos de HazteOir cambian de marca para limpiar su imagen". Eldiario.es (in Spanish). 2 February 2017.
  4. ↑ Gekeler, Corinna (30 April 2014). "Warum ist Europa wichtig? (7)". In den vergangenen zehn Jahren hat sich die Anzahl der Lobby-Büros von ultrakonservativen Gruppen in Brüssel verfünffacht.
  5. ↑ Ramsey, Adam (25 April 2019). "Revealed: the Trump-linked 'Super PAC' working behind the scenes to drive Europe's voters to the far right". OpenDemocracy. CitizenGo was set up in 2013 – the same year as Vox – as an ultra-conservative version of the progressive campaign platforms Avaaz.org and MoveOn.org.
  6. ↑ "Trump takes war on abortion worldwide as policy cuts off funds". The Guardian. 17 May 2019. Just as hostile to LGBTI rights and abortion is the ultraconservative CitizenGO, started in Spain but now promoting petitions in 50 countries.
  7. ↑ "Why a Children's Book Is Becoming a Symbol of Resistance in Hungary's Fight Over LGBT Rights". Time. 8 October 2020. organized by ultra-conservative campaign group CitizenGO
  8. ↑ "Activists in Kenya to keep fighting for abortion rights after end of Roe". The Washington Post. 5 July 2022. Among these groups is CitizenGO, an ultraconservative Spain-based petition mill.
  9. ↑ "Spain's 'transphobic bus' rolls on to the streets of Manhattan". El País. 23 March 2017. Banned at home, ultraconservative group internationalizes its anti-transgender campaign
  10. ↑ "HazteOir 'rompe' con Vox por no exigir la derogación de las leyes LGBTI en Murcia y Madrid". 5 August 2019.
  11. ↑ "Hazte Oír vuelve a la carga con un autobús en contra del feminismo: "No es violencia de género, es violencia doméstica"". 28 February 2019. La organización de extrema derecha, conocida por su dura posición en contra del colectivo LGTBI,
  12. ↑ "Un autobús ultra recorrerá València con mensajes machistas por el 8-M". 28 February 2019. La asociación de extrema derecha
  13. ↑ "Anti-trans bus to stop in D.C. next week". 28 March 2017. HazTeOir, which is CitizenGO's far-right Catholic affiliate in Spain that translates into "Make yourself heard,"
  14. ↑ Mónica Cornejo-Valle; J. Ignacio Pichardo. La "ideología de género" frente a los derechos sexuales y reproductivos. El escenario español. cadernos pagu. ISSN 1809-4449.
  15. 1 2 "CitizenGo | FOIA Research". www.foiaresearch.net. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
  16. 1 2 3 "What is CitizenGO?". CitizenGO. 12 July 2013.
  17. 1 2 Mateusz Wyrwich. "In Defence of Our Values". Sunday Catholic Weekly (Poland). defence of Christian values
  18. 1 2 3 4 "Quién está detras´de los lobbies ultracatólicos que arremeten contra las mujeres y el colectivo LGTBI". Eldiario.es (in Spanish). 3 October 2016. HazteOir, CitizenGo, Profesionales por la Ética, Centro Tomás Moro, Abogados Cristianos, Más Libres, Instituto para la Política Familiar, Organización del Bien Común... Son los lobbies ultracatólicos, que cuentan con el apoyo más o menos directo de una parte de la Conferencia Episcopal Española.
  19. 1 2 3 4 J. Lester Feder (29 July 2014). "The Rise Of Europe's Religious Right". Buzzfeed.
    As quoted byMiranda Blue (28 August 2014). "The Religious Right Makes Friends Across The Atlantic". Right Wing Watch. People for the American Way.
  20. ↑ "The war for Families in Europe continues, says CitizenGo". Christian Concern. 5 Feb 2014.
  21. ↑ Lester Feder (2 Jul 2014). "The Fight For Marriage Equality In The Pope's Backyard". Buzzfeed. Volontè is also on the board of CitizenGo, a globalizing online mobilizing platform that grew out of the Spanish organization instrumental in promoting a bill to restrict abortion enacted in 2010.
  22. ↑ "El Salvador's Right-Wing Media Begins Sustained Campaign Against Releasing 17 Women Imprisoned on Abortion-Related Charges". RH Reality Check. 11 August 2014. CitizenGO, a Madrid-based Christian foundation whose principles include the belief that life begins at conception.
  23. ↑ "'Don't euthanize kids': Spaniards tell Belgium". TheLocal.es. 27 February 2014.
  24. 1 2 Sian Norris (21 June 2021). "The Money Men Behind CitizenGO's Anti-Rights Agenda". Byline Times. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  25. ↑ Miranda Blue (2 Feb 2015). "NOM Praises Roy Moore For Standing Against 'Judicial Tyranny' On Marriage". Right Wing Watch. People for the American Way.
  26. ↑ "El Yunque, al descubierto". Equipo de investigación. Season 1. Episode 186 (in Spanish). Event occurs at 49:30. La Sexta. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  27. ↑ "Szélsőjobbos orosz oligarchákhoz köthető, 9 millió embert mozgató hálózat kampányol minálunk". Népszava. CitizenGo is affiliated via board member Alexey Komov to Russian businessman Konstantin Malofeev, who is close to the Russian government and the Russian Orthodox Church, and has supported separatists in Ukraine's Donetsk region, as well as far-right groups in the European Union.
  28. ↑ "El lobby ultraderechista español que mueve los hilos del movimiento antigay en México". El País (in Spanish).
  29. ↑ Gutiérrez, Alejandro (2016-09-23). "Asociación yunquista en España entrega firmas contra iniciativa de Peña sobre matrimonios gay". Proceso (in Spanish). El documento que presentaron a la embajada mexicana tenía la portada el nombre de CitizenGo, una de las organizaciones que ofrece apoyo internacional al Frente Nacional por la Familia, en México, y que el periodista de Proceso, Álvaro Delgado identificó como una de los tentáculos de El Yunque español que están detrás de las movilizaciones en México
  30. ↑ "Hazte Oír, la "guerrilla" del ultracatolicismo español". El País (in Spanish). Las denuncias de su vinculación con el Yunque empezaron a alejar a Hazte Oír de varios altos cargos de la Iglesia. De hecho, tras una sentencia de un juzgado de Madrid que consideró "contrastado y acreditado" la relación entre miembros de ambas organizaciones, el obispo de Getafe y el arzobispo de Toledo anunciaron que no apoyarían las iniciativas del colectivo liderado por Arsuaga y le instaba a desaparecer de sus parroquias.
  31. ↑ "Demand Netflix backs off Georgia – Cancel your subscription now". CitizenGO. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  32. ↑ "Help me to defend the lives of the unborn in Kenya". CitizenGo. 9 April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  33. ↑ "Newport: Nothing hateful in stickers, says arrested woman". BBC News. 2022-01-27. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  34. ↑ CitizenGO (2022-01-27). "Tell Gwent police to use common sense". CitizenGO. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  35. ↑ "Brian Brown extends his anti-LGBT activism across the globe". GLAAD. 14 January 2014. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  36. ↑ "The document hosted in the website of Profesionales por la Ética" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-11. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  37. ↑ "DC Comics to release blasphemous series about Jesus". CitizenGO. 14 February 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  38. ↑ Aguilar, Matthew (31 January 2019). "Over 100K People Sign Petition For DC Comics To Pull Second Coming Comic Book". Comicbook.com. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  39. ↑ McMillan, Graeme (13 February 2019). "DC Vertigo Cancels 'Second Coming' of Jesus Comic Book Series". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  40. ↑ Flood, Alison (19 February 2019). "DC cancels comic where Jesus learns from superhero after outcry". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  41. ↑ "STOP LGBT indoctrination at Disneyland". CitizenGO. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  42. ↑ Provost, Claire (14 June 2019). "Who's afraid of LGBT superheroes?". Open Democracy. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  43. ↑ Duke, Barry (13 June 2019). "Disney refuses to accept anti-gay petition, tells bigot to get lost". Patheos. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  44. ↑ Megarry, Daniel (5 June 2019). "Disneyland just made history with their first ever Pride parade". Gay Times. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  45. ↑ "Kenya stands firm at the United Nations after CitizenGOers pressure". Archived from the original on 2020-02-12.
  46. ↑ "Exporting Disinformation: How Foreign Groups Peddle Influence in Kenya through Twitter". Archived from the original on 2022-02-22.
  47. ↑ "New evidence of thriving 'disinformation industry' on Twitter is worrying as Kenya gears for elections in August 2022". 22 February 2022.
  48. ↑ "Tell Netflix to Pull offensive depictions of Jesus". CitizenGO. 26 May 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
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