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this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2026
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Uhh where do you think that money comes from?
If you've bought Mullvad's services you have unwittingly contributed to that donation.
Every nazis salary comes from somewhere, or do you boycott just about everything?
It's just not buying stuff. You make it sound impossible.
No I mean, every nazis or racist gets their money from somewhere, be it Mullvad or Nestlé or Walmart, how do you avoid supporting that? Do you just don't buy stuff from anywhere or do you have an ever shrinking base of viable options?
Well take this guy for example - I dont know how he invests but I know a significant portion of his income will be coming from Mullvad. So yeah, I can't personally choke all of his income, but I can boycott a wee bit of it. I will do that, because I think its the right thing to do.
This is what I was thinking of. Aren't we at risk to do this all the time? I am curious how you manage it, not arguing against you boycotting anything, that I support.
This is the core running gag of a lot of the tv series The Good Place.
The answer, of course, is just keep trying.
Critical thinking is based on treating problems as opportunities to improve. Endlessly.
Yes, absolutely! I have an ever shrinking list of suppliers for my business and the household.
It’s not an on/off situation.
The point of any such action dealing with complex consequences is simply a statistical approach. Deny custom with the oligarchs whenever you can, and it adds up in aggregate.
Buy local, barter, buy from vetted independent companies, use boycott apps, keep a shitlist and consult a company family tree if you are wondering about a product.
Smaller scale family farms are less likely to poison themselves, they live close to the fields; buy direct from them when you can. Farmer's markets. It's less convenient. It’s culturally richer.
There are hidden costs in cheaper products. It's not as big a sacrifice as it seems to avoid oligarchs whenever you see them.
Yes I fully understand how he gets money from being part owner of the company, I never said that wasn't the casr. But how he chooses to spend his private cash is not the fault of Mullvad the company.
I completely get wanting to boycott the company to avoid giving him money. But it makes no sense to blame the company for his private spending.
It's absolutely people's business whether they support the public face of a public company giving money to a public political party
Like, what part of Mullvad not being responsible for the donation in any way is it that people are not understanding? The company had no control or say over this dudes donation, so they can't be responsible for it. Sure, don't buy mullvad so you avoid indirectly giving the nutjob more money to support his fascist political views, that's a totally valid response. But It doesn't change that Mullvad is not, and never can be, responsible for his donation.
What is "the company"?
I'm not blaming the employees. I'm blaming the self-selected face, the guy who subscribes to the idea that his success and the company's success are intertwined.
The company is the employees, yes, including the CEOs. Their collective actions are the actions of Mullvad.
Whilst the donation does reflect well on the company, there's a lot more to the company that just one half of the leadership. I think people are right to keep a distinction between the two. "Mullvad" had no control of whether this donation was made or not, just as they have no control over any other employee making a political donation.
Should they consider if the CEOs public action have brought the company disrepute and fire him? Possibly, but I think it would be likely that such a decision could be challenged as a persons political views are not grounds for dismissal.
I don't care who's fault it is, I'd still rather use a VPN that didn't have any controversy.
Except Mullvad put out that statement in question as a defense. Their response is enough to turn people off the company.