Tinder and Bumble are kicking Capitol rioters off dating apps
Dating apps are swiping left to anyone connected with the Jan. 6 siege of Capitol.
One of the men who stormed the Capitol Building in Washington on Jan. 6 bragged to Bloomberg that his Bumble account is "blowing up" thanks to pictures of him in the act. Well, not anymore pal.
Bumble and Match Group, which owns Tinder, Hinge, OKCupid, Match and Plenty of Fish, are blocking the accounts of people known to have participated in the riot, reports the Washington Post.
"Rest assured that we prohibit any content that promotes terrorism or racial hatred," a Bumble tweet reads, "and we've already removed any users that have been confirmed as participants in the attack of the US Capitol." A spokesperson for Match, which represents Tinder, told the Post, "We have, and will continue, to ban any users wanted by the FBI in connection with domestic terrorism from all of our brands, and we always cooperate with law enforcement in their investigations."
It's a move that adds insult to injury: Of more pressing to concern to rioters is impending arrest. Over 70 people have been arrested in connection with the insurrection, in which five people were killed.
Bumble and Tinder were contacted for comment but did not immediately respond.
Swiping through dating apps to see if any guys have pictures of them at the capitol so I can send it to the FBI. It's my civic duty.
— Not Ramona Flowers (@ughmandaaa) January 13, 2021
Get in girls. We're going hunting. pic.twitter.com/qIjmiXNoSV
— Dr. Lisa Corrigan (@DrLisaCorrigan) January 14, 2021
I'm changing my preferences from "liberal" to "conservative" on my dating apps and reporting anyone who brags about storming to capitol to the FBI. pic.twitter.com/5vwIC8Q4b2
— Kat 🖤 (@KatMeanJean) January 14, 2021
Capitol rioters being barred from datings apps is the latest in an ongoing fallout following the Jan. 6 incident, which caused President Donald Trump to be impeached for the second time. Trump, for his role in inciting the riot on Twitter and at a rally in Washington, was banned from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. Parler, a social media platform that many Pro-Trump conservatives flocked to, was blocked by Apple, Google and Amazon.
Bumble and Match's decree comes after a viral movement of users to find Capitol rioters on these apps, confirm their identity and participation in the riot, and then report them to the FBI. Some women in Washington reported changing their political preference on Bumble to "conservative" for the specific purpose of finding and matching with the protesters -- enough that Bumble temporarily removed the political preferences filter to prevent "misuse".
The move from these dating apps has precedent. In 2017, OKCupid banned for life a neo-Nazi who participated in the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally, which led to the death of one woman.