Patreon CEO said the company continued supporting creators in Russia despite US sanctions

Western governments and companies have imposed sanctions against Russia. Jack Conte is taking a different approach. The head of the large creator platform, which has thousands of creators in the region, decided to keep operating in Russia, allowing people to make money off the service.

He did not want to punish creators for a political decision they had no say in. He talked about his company's position in an onstage interview.

I don't think individual creators should have to pay for the misdeeds of their authoritarian leader. I don't want to put that on creative people.

The interview was held at an event hosted by the Newcomer newsletter and the voice-game company Volley.

The decision may be more symbolic than practical. Many creators on the platform have been affected by the fact that most US banks and financial-service companies have stopped offering service in the country.

Tech companies have played a key role in helping the government with its sanctions. Russian users have their services cut off by Apple, Google, and other companies. The Russian government has banned social-media platforms such as Facebook because they were spreading misinformation.

The actions have been controversial as they have affected individuals and small businesses. The loss of access to the app has been devastating. Many creators on OnlyFans discovered that their accounts had been locked. OnlyFans said that the instances were a result of banking sanctions and that they didn't want to punish creators.

In the interview, he spoke out against Putin and said he didn't feel sympathy for him.

He said that if there was a way the company could punish Putin, it would. He said that his decision to continue operating in Russia was not controversial at his company.

He said that the company had done what it could to support the country by waiving service fees. There are thousands of creators in Ukraine.

Tom Dotan is a co-host of the Dead Cat podcast.

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