GoFundMe pulled the plug on a campaign to raise money for an elderly Texas couple after the husband went viral for working a back-breaking job to cover his wife’s mounting bills for cancer treatment, the platform said Sunday.
\n\nThe digital fundraising site said it “identified factual misrepresentations,” but did not immediately reveal what kind of misrepresentations were behind its decision to end the campaign set to benefit Donald and Josephine Johnson.
\n\nThe GoFundMe gained national attention and raised nearly $290,000 before it was pulled down.
\n\nThe campaign was started by a concerned stranger, identified as “Erin H,” who said she spotted on her Ring camera the 81-year-old husband struggling to carry heavy luggage up a flight of stairs.
\n\nThe organizer said she asked why he working such a physically demanding job at his age, and Johnson said his wife was fighting cancer and this was the only job he could find to pay the overwhelming hospital bills.
\n\nBut somewhere along the line, GoFundMe said it found “misrepresentations” in the campaign.
\n\n“Our Trust & Safety team identified factual misrepresentations, which directly violates our Terms of Service,” the platform said in a statement to NBC News on Sunday. “As a result, the…
Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business