CitizenGO is an ultra-
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
advocacy group founded in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, in 2013 by the ultra-Catholic and
far-right HazteOir
CitizenGO is an ultra-conservatism, conservative advocacy group founded in Madrid, Spain, in 2013 by the ultra-Catholic and far-right HazteOir organization.
The foundation aims to be "a community of active citizens that seeks to promote the part ...
organization.
The foundation aims to be "a community of active citizens that seeks to promote the participation of society in politics" and "defend and promote life, family, and liberty."
It promotes petitions in 50 countries, mostly defending
Christian causes,
and those opposing
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
,
[As quoted by] abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...
,
and
euthanasia.
History
CitizenGO was founded in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
, Spain, in September 2013 by HazteOir
to expand its scope of action beyond Spanish-speaking countries,
advancing the use of
online petition
An online petition (or Internet petition, or e-petition) is a form of petition which is signed online, usually through a form on a website. Visitors to the online petition sign the petition by adding their details such as name and email address. T ...
s as a form of
Internet activism
Internet activism is the use of electronic communication technologies such as social media, e-mail, and podcasts for various forms of activism to enable faster and more effective communication by citizen movements, the delivery of particular inf ...
to increase public participation in the democratic process.
In appealing to potential donors early into CitizenGO's existence, the founder and president Ignacio Arsuaga stated: "CitizenGO will produce a social benefit that we trust will impact human history. Abortionists, the
homosexual lobby, radical
secularists
Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations.
Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a sim ...
, and champions of
relativism
Relativism is a family of philosophical views which deny claims to objectivity within a particular domain and assert that valuations in that domain are relative to the perspective of an observer or the context in which they are assessed. Ther ...
will find themselves behind CitizenGO’s containment wall".
CitizenGO says that they have "team members located in fifteen cities on three continents" who facilitate users signing petitions in 50 countries
and 8 languages, with plans to add more. The CitizenGO Foundation is financially supported by online donations made by their members.
The CEO of CitizenGO is Álvaro Zulueta. The CitizenGO Foundation Board of Trustees is composed of Ignacio Arsuaga, Walter Hintz, Blanca Escobar,
Luca Volontè (''
Unione dei Democratici Cristiani'' politician),
Brian S. Brown (president of the anti-LGBT rights
National Organization for Marriage
The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is an American non-profit political organization established to work against the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States. It was formed in 2007 specifically to pass California Proposi ...
), Gualberto García, Alexey Komov (Russian Representative of the pro-
Christian right
The Christian right, or the religious right, are Christian political factions characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies. Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with ...
World Congress of Families
The World Congress of Families (WCF) is a United States coalition that promotes Christian right values internationally. It opposes same-sex marriage, pornography, and abortion, while supporting a society built on "the voluntary union of a man and ...
, considered a close ally of pro-
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
oligarch
Konstantin Malofeev
Konstantin Valeryevich Malofeev (russian: link=no, Константин Валерьевич Малофеев) is a Russian businessman and chairman of non-government pro-monarchism organisation Society for the Development of Russian Historical ...
),
Alejandro Bermudez, and John-Henry Westen.
In 2001, lawyer Ignacio Arsuaga founded HazteOir (literally, "Make yourself heard"). This organization later merged into and became part of CitizenGO, a move that was considered a "rebranding".
The foundation has been linked, like HazteOir, to
El Yunque, a secret society of Mexican regional origin.
In 2021, CitizenGO board member
Luca Volontè was sentenced to four years in prison for accepting bribes from Azerbaijan during the
Azerbaijani laundromat
The Azerbaijani laundromat is a complex money-laundering scheme organized by Azerbaijan that was revealed by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) in September 2017. The investigations exposed that during two years between 2 ...
in exchange for suppressing a report on Azerbaijan's human rights record. Some of these laundered funds were transferred to CitizenGO.
Activities
Abortion and euthanasia
CitizenGO promotes campaigns opposing abortion and euthanasia. CitizenGO has opposed the introduction of the "
Estrela report
The Estrela report (officially Report on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights—A7-0306/2013) was a non-binding resolution on women's health and reproductive rights in the European Union advanced by the Portuguese MEP Edite Estrela of the Soc ...
" into the
European parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
, which recommends member states to provide comprehensive sex education in schools and ensure access to abortions, among other things.
In late May 2019, CitizenGO hosted a petition by "Right to Life" calling on streaming service
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
to stop funding a legal challenge to
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
's controversial
heartbeat abortion restriction bill. The group also called for subscribers to cancel their Netflix subscription as a sign of protest.
It has also supported African activist Ann Kioko's campaign to investigate pro-abortion rights group
Marie Stopes International
MSI Reproductive Choices, named Marie Stopes International until November 2020, is an international non-governmental organisation providing contraception and safe abortion services in 37 countries around the world. MSI Reproductive Choices as an ...
. After Kioko was put on trial CitizenGO utilized their platform to promote the idea that the
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
...
n government wants to censor the protests of CitizenGO and other
anti-abortion outlets.
Defense of the Russian gay propaganda law
In 2013, CitizenGO signed a declaration in support of the
Russian law
The primary and fundamental statement of laws in the Russian Federation is the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
Hierarchy
Constitutionism
Adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993 with 54.5% of the vote, the Constitution took ...
, which had the stated purpose of protecting children from being exposed to homosexuality.
''Second Coming'' comic series
In February 2019, CitizenGO organized a petition calling on
DC Vertigo to cancel
Mark Russell and Richard Pace's ''Second Coming'' comic series, which they regarded as
blasphemous
Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religio ...
for its depiction of
Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
. Russell subsequently confirm that it had been his decision to request the return of the rights to the series.
2019 Disneyland "Magical Parade"
In late May 2018, CitizenGO circulated a petition calling on
Disneyland Paris
Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Chessy, Seine-et-Marne, Chessy, France, east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, resort hotels, Disney Nature Resorts, a shopping, dining and entertainment complex, and a golf course. Disney ...
to cancel a scheduled
pride parade called the "Magical Parade" on 1 June 2019.
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...
rejected the petition and the Magical Parade went ahead in Paris.
LGBT rights and reproductive health misinformation campaign in Kenya
CitizenGO Africa opposes decriminalising homosexuality in Kenya.
According to a 2021 investigation by
Mozilla Foundation
The Mozilla Foundation (stylized as moz://a) is an American non-profit organization that exists to support and collectively lead the open source Mozilla project. Founded in July 2003, the organization sets the policies that govern development, ...
, it also engaged in spreading
misinformation
Misinformation is incorrect or misleading information. It differs from disinformation, which is ''deliberately'' deceptive. Rumors are information not attributed to any particular source, and so are unreliable and often unverified, but can turn ...
concerning reproductive health policy in the country through a tweets and hashtags on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
as well as paying Kenyans to also tweet against debated legislation, which aimed to develop guidelines for surrogacy as well as improving reproductive health care and rights.
''Paradise PD'' TV series
CitizenGO started a campaign to have the episode "Trigger Warning" from the TV series ''
Paradise PD
, creator = {{nowrap, Waco O'Guin & Roger Black
, writer =
, story =
, voices = {{Plainlist,
* Sarah Chalke
* David Herman
* Tom Kenny
* Kyle Kinane
* Cedric Yarbrough
* Dana Snyder
...
'' removed from Netflix. This is because of a depiction of Jesus Christ, in which he is seen attacking his persecutors with machine guns and having sex with two women.
See also
*
Online petition
An online petition (or Internet petition, or e-petition) is a form of petition which is signed online, usually through a form on a website. Visitors to the online petition sign the petition by adding their details such as name and email address. T ...
*
Internet activism
Internet activism is the use of electronic communication technologies such as social media, e-mail, and podcasts for various forms of activism to enable faster and more effective communication by citizen movements, the delivery of particular inf ...
References
External links
* {{Official website, https://citizengo.org/
Lobbying organizations in the United States
Same-sex marriage in the United States
Online organizations
Christian organisations based in Spain
Conservatism in Spain