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In May 2017, Chastain ran a fundraising campaign, announcing that Voat might have to shut down due to lack of money.<ref name="theverge" /> However, after forming a partnership with an investor, Voat stayed online.<ref name=":6" />
On December 22, 2020, Voat again announced that it would be shut down due to a lack of funding. Cofounder and CEO Chastain said that he had been funding the site himself after a key investor defaulted on their contract in March, but had run out of money by December.<ref name=":6" /> On December 25, 2020, Voat shut down.<ref name=":1Cox-Ars Technica">{{Cite web|last=Cox|first=Kate|date=December 28, 2020|title=Reddit clone Voat, home to hate speech and QAnon, has shut down|url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/12/reddit-clone-voat-home-to-hate-speech-and-qanon-has-shut-down/|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=December 29, 2020|website=[[Ars Technica]]|language=en-us}}</ref>
== History ==
=== Deplatforming and cyberattacks ===
Voat's [[web hosting service]], Host Europe (a precursor to [[Webfusion]]), refused service to Voat in June 2015, alleging that the service "was publicizing [[Volksverhetzung|incitement of the people]], as well as abusive, insulting and [[Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons|youth-endangering content]]" and "[[Strafgesetzbuch section 86a|illegal right-wing extremist content]]."<ref name="Sawers">{{cite web|url=https://venturebeat.com/2015/06/19/swiss-reddit-clone-voat-has-its-servers-closed-by-hosting-provider-due-to-politically-incorrect-content/|title=Amid censorship brouhaha, Reddit clone Voat has its servers closed by hosting provider|last=Sawers|first=Paul|date=June 19, 2015|website=[[VentureBeat]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222044428/http://venturebeat.com/2015/06/19/swiss-reddit-clone-voat-has-its-servers-closed-by-hosting-provider-due-to-politically-incorrect-content/|archive-date=2017-02-22|access-date=December 16, 2016}}</ref> Host Europe is based in Germany, and is subject to stronger hate speech laws than those of the United States.<ref name=":1Cox-Ars Technica" /> Voat's founder attributed the shutdown to [[political correctness]].<ref name=Sawers /> [[PayPal]] froze payment processing services to Voat the same month due to "sexually oriented materials or services."<ref name="IBT" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://motherboard.vice.com/read/paypal-cuts-off-reddit-clone-voat-over-obscenity|work=Motherboard|publisher=VICE|title=PayPal Cuts Off Reddit Clone Voat Over 'Obscenity'|date=June 23, 2015|access-date=December 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161206201017/http://motherboard.vice.com/read/paypal-cuts-off-reddit-clone-voat-over-obscenity/|archive-date=2016-12-06|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Dewey">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2015/06/23/this-is-what-happens-when-you-create-an-online-community-without-any-rules-part-2/|title=This is what happens when you create an online community without any rules, part 2|last=Dewey|first=Caitlin|date=June 23, 2015|work=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=December 16, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202150217/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2015/06/23/this-is-what-happens-when-you-create-an-online-community-without-any-rules-part-2/|archive-date=2017-02-02}}</ref><ref name="TT">{{cite web|url=https://www.techtimes.com/articles/62530/20150623/web-host-shuts-down-reddit-clone-voat-for-politically-incorrect-content.htm|title=Web Host Shuts Down Reddit Clone Voat For Politically Incorrect Content|last1=Macadangdang|first1=Rex|date=June 23, 2015|website=Tech Times|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709081610/http://www.techtimes.com/articles/62530/20150623/web-host-shuts-down-reddit-clone-voat-for-politically-incorrect-content.htm|archive-date=2015-07-09|accessdate=July 8, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Guard">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jun/22/reddit-clone-voat-dropped-by-web-host|title=Reddit clone Voat dropped by web host for "political incorrect" content|last1=Hern|first1=Alex|date=June 22, 2015|website=[[The Guardian]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709094609/http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jun/22/reddit-clone-voat-dropped-by-web-host|archive-date=2015-07-09|accessdate=July 8, 2015}}</ref> Voat shut down four of its own subverses in response, two of which hosted sexualized images of minors ("[[Jailbait images|jailbait]]").<ref name=Verge /> The website continued to accept [[cryptocurrency]] donations,<ref name="MW" /><ref name=":1Cox-Ars Technica" /> and was able to continue functioning as it had moved to a different hosting provider.<ref name="Voat2">{{cite web | url=https://voat.co/v/announcements/comments/146757 | title=Our provider, hosteurope.de shut down our servers due to "political incorrectness" | date=June 20, 2015 | accessdate=July 9, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713150356/https://voat.co/v/announcements/comments/146757 | archive-date=2015-07-13 | url-status=live }}</ref> The website continued to experience downtime due to an ongoing distributed denial of service ([[Denial-of-service attack|DDoS]]) attack, rendering the 700,000 unique visitors unable to access the site.<ref name=Verge />
Also in July, Voat, alongside [[WikiLeaks]], was subject to a [[Bitcoin]] "dust" attack and more DDoS attacks. The Bitcoin attack slowed payment processing to the websites.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ezvw7z/wikileaks-is-now-a-target-in-the-massive-spam-attack-on-bitcoin|title=WikiLeaks Is Now a Target In the Massive Spam Attack on Bitcoin|last1=Pearson|first1=Jordan|date=July 9, 2015|website=[[Vice (magazine)|Motherboard]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150710092844/http://motherboard.vice.com/read/wikileaks-is-now-a-target-in-the-massive-spam-attack-on-bitcoin|archive-date=2015-07-10|accessdate=July 10, 2015}}</ref> The DDoS attack, launched July 12, was unsuccessful due to [[Cloudflare]] DDoS protection services, although it had the side effect of rendering third-party Voat apps incapable of functioning.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fortune.com/2015/07/13/new-reddit-rival-voat-hit-by-ddos-attack/|title=New Reddit rival Voat hit by DDoS attack|last=Roberts|first=Jeff John|date=July 13, 2015|website=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714004227/http://fortune.com/2015/07/13/new-reddit-rival-voat-hit-by-ddos-attack/|archive-date=2015-07-14|access-date=2015-07-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/voat-ddos-attack/|title=Reddit rival Voat hit with DDoS attacks|last=Khan|first=Imad|date=July 13, 2015|website=[[The Daily Dot]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717163107/http://www.dailydot.com/politics/voat-ddos-attack/|archive-date=2015-07-17|accessdate=July 21, 2015}}</ref>
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