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Airbnb Banned White Supremacists Who Attended Charlottesville Rally

The platform "will continue to stand for acceptance," CEO Brian Chesky said.

Airbnb took action last weekend to ban "Unite the Right" rally-goers from its platform, but its executives say they were never welcome in the first place.

In a statement provided to HuffPost Canada, CEO Brian Chesky said some people attending the violent white nationalist gatherings had planned to stay and throw parties at Airbnb listings while in Charlottesville, Va.

"In this case, last week, we removed these people from Airbnb."

Brian Chesky, chief executive officer and co-founder of Airbnb Inc., speaks during an Economic Club of New York luncheon at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., on Monday, March 13, 2017.
Bloomberg via Getty Images
Brian Chesky, chief executive officer and co-founder of Airbnb Inc., speaks during an Economic Club of New York luncheon at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., on Monday, March 13, 2017.

He said the platform "will continue to stand for acceptance."

"The violence, racism and hatred demonstrated by Neo-Nazis, the alt-right and white supremacists should have no place in this world."

Co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk told Bloomberg News that the users' stance was "completely incompatible with our values."

Airbnb makes users sign a pledge when they sign up that they will not discriminate or exhibit hatred.

"Whenever we become aware of such an example, they're permanently banned from the platform."

Banned users for racist messages

Airbnb users who have sent racist messages have been banned from the platform in the past.

In April, a host was permanently banned after cancelling her guest's reservation because she was Asian-American.

And in June, another host was removed after sending racist messages to a black guest.

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