As VentureBeat notes, Gab’s crowdfunding campaign appears to have gained momentum following this week’s violence in Charlottesville, which prompted several web services to sever ties with hate groups, as well as a sexist memo from a Google engineer that leaked earlier this month. Andrew Anglin, founder of the neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer, recently began posting screenshots of articles to Gab after various web hosting and domain services cut the site off.
It is not clear what prompted Google to remove the Gab app from its store. The company’s hate speech policy forbids any apps “that advocate against groups of people based on their race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, nationality, veteran status, sexual orientation, or gender identity.” The app has never been approved for placement on Apple’s App Store.
A Google spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on what prompted the decision to remove Gab. Following the removal, Gab tweeted a link that it says would allow Android users to download its app without going through the Play Store.