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Paypal controversy freezes awards site

When The Reminder entered an article about Syrian refugees into a journalism competition, staff hoped the article would stand out. Just not in this way. On Jan.

When The Reminder entered an article about Syrian refugees into a journalism competition, staff hoped the article would stand out.

Just not in this way.

On Jan. 25, The Reminder forwarded more than a dozen articles, including one titled “Syrian family adapts to new life,” to the Canadian Community Newspaper Awards competition.

It was the start of a story that would grab national headlines and spark debate over US regulatory measures.

After initially accepting The Reminder’s entry fee, the US-based PayPal revoked the transaction, later saying “Syrian family adapts to new life” warranted “a complete and detailed explanation” to ensure it complied with regulations.

In an email to the Canadian Press, a PayPal spokeswoman later clarified: “As there were some transactions related to the word ‘Syria,’ our teams are required to check some details as per our obligations to comply with financial regulations.”

PayPal sought additional information from the recipient of the entry fee, News Media Canada, organizer of the competition, and temporarily halted its ability to receive funds through its account.

News Media Canada regained full use of its account on Friday, Feb. 10, shortly after the Canadian Press broke the story, said News Media Canada program assistant Nicole Bunt.

The Globe and Mail, CBC and Huffington Post were among the national media outlets to pick up the Canadian Press story. Surprise and apprehension marked much of the reaction.

“It’s quite scary about how insidious the security agenda has become,” News Media Canada CEO John Hinds told the Canadian Press.

On Facebook, some Reminder readers responded to the article with disdain, with one calling the story “horrifying” and another saying she cancelled her PayPal account.

In an email sent Jan. 25, the same day The Reminder attempted to pay its entry fee to the competition, PayPal requested Hinds cite the “purpose of payment” for “Syrian family adapts to new life,” including “a complete and detailed explanation of the transaction.”

PayPal gave Hinds 15 days, until Feb. 9, to offer an explanation or face restrictions on the organization’s account.

Bunt said the email went unnoticed and News Media Canada’s account was restricted sometime between midnight and 9 am on Feb. 9.

News Media Canada learned of the account restrictions the day after Reminder publisher Valerie Durnin contacted the organization about the disputed payment.

Durnin said PayPal initially accepted her payment but later reimbursed the money, having cited a possible breach of its “acceptable use policy.”

She said it was not made clear why the transaction was revoked, though she speculated it had something to do with a new credit card she had used.

Durnin called the situation “pretty odd and unsettling,” adding, “It’s such a disconnect between what the story is actually about and the reaction to it based on the words in the story.”

Bunt said News Media Canada forwarded PayPal the explanatory documents it requested on Feb. 9 and was still awaiting a response when Canadian Press reporter Colin Perkel contacted News Media Canada after catching wind of the story.

The Reminder article at the heart of the controversy, published on July 15, 2016, detailed a Syrian refugee family’s transition to a new way of life after moving to Flin Flon. The Reminder nominated the article in the awards competition’s Best Feature Story category. The Syrian family has since left Flin Flon.

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