Website For MAGA-Friendly Businesses Backfires As People Use It For Boycotts

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 “ since the start of the year. Even before Trump announced his tariffs earlier this month, which have hurt economies globally, PublicSquare was down by 12%.

The company appears to make its revenue through fees paid out by businesses on its website, along with “a commission per transaction.” Still, there’s no way to directly link the company’s finances to people actively using the site to find businesses to stop supporting.

A PublicSquare spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment about people using their website to find businesses not to patronize or about the company’s financial woes.

Jeff doesn’t presume he’s the only anti-Trump person who knew about this website before this year, but said he’s been blown away by how many people told him they’d never heard of it — and how happy they are to know about it. Most people he’s engaged with said they plan to use PublicSquare to make sure they don’t give money to Trump-aligned businesses, but a few said they wanted to use the site as intended, to support such companies.

“The vast majority of people said, ‘I had no idea. I can’t believe this or that business is on there. I’m never going there again,’” Jeff said. “I’d say 90% of responses are of that ilk.”

He emphasized his efforts to spread the word about PublicSquare aren’t about punishing businesses but about helping people make informed decisions.

“Right now, so many decisions are being made that affect our lives that are outside of our control, and many people feel helpless,” Jeff said. “The ability to make purchasing decisions that align with our values is one thing we can do.”

That’s definitely how Janet Koenig feels. The 62-year-old California resident recently came across one of Jeff’s posts on Reddit, so she went to PublicSquare’s website and entered her ZIP code. To her dismay, one of her favorite coffee shops came up. She was horrified.

“I was like, you’ve got to be kidding me,” Koenig said. “I just assumed they were one of the good guys. I’ll be sure to tell all my friends not to go.”

Now she regularly checks PublicSquare before buying products. She’s also been sharing a link to its website with as many people as she can, most of whom, like her, had no idea this company existed and at least some of whom plan to use it to make sure they don’t inadvertently give money to Trump-aligned businesses. She said she feels like her efforts may not be having much of an impact, but she feels a new sense of empowerment.

“I just feel like I have to do something. Because businesses now control our votes, you know?” Koenig said. “I feel like, you know what, if they control our votes, I’ll do whatever I can do to only support the ones that vote the way I want. It’s about disgust, honestly. I’m disgusted by the way our votes can be bought by business.”

“I sleep well at night knowing I’m not accidentally donating to the bad guys,” she said.