WASHINGTON – A few years ago, Jeff was working for a California bank that asked him to look into getting the business listed on a website called PublicSquare.

The bank’s leaders were big supporters of Donald Trump, and PublicSquare was an ideal place to advertise it: Its website, which bills itself as “the anti-woke online marketplace,” is a hub of tens of thousands of businesses nationwide that want people to know they align with MAGA views and oppose so-called “progressive priorities” like women’s reproductive rights and diversity initiatives. In order to list your business on the website, you first have to confirm that you will “respect the core values of PublicSquare” and agree not to “support causes that are in direct conflict with our core values.”

“For far too long, American consumers and business owners who cherish family values and God-given liberty have been overlooked by mainstream businesses,” the company’s website states. “It’s time to embrace this community of customers and merchants by providing platforms, products, and services that enrich the way of life they hold dear.”

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Fast-forward to February 2025, when Trump is back in the White House and destroying virtually everything he touches. He’s tanking the global economy. He’s hollowingout the federalgovernment. It is not hyperbole to say he’s pushing American democracy to its breaking point.

Jeff, a regular user of the social media platform Reddit, started noticing people in his San Diego community posting messages desperate for ways to fight back against Trump’s recklessness. Some called for boycotting MAGA-friendly businesses but didn’t know how to identify companies that support Trump’s views. So Jeff, who had extensively researched PublicSquare at his previous bank job, tossed in a note about it.

“MAGA has made it easy for all of us to avoid their businesses,” he wrote under his Reddit name, Hour-Abbreviations18. “A couple years ago, they introduced a website – publicsq.com — to promote MAGA businesses. We can use that same tool to make informed purchasing decisions.”

“If a business is listed on the site, it’s not a fluke,” he wrote. “It’s on purpose.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/smallbusiness/website-for-maga-friendly-businesses-backfires-as-people-use-it-for-boycotts/ar-AA1DENVU