Young women campaigning for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) on Tinder were reportedly banned from the dating app after sending messages supporting his candidacy to possible matches.
Reuters reported:
Two women--one from Iowa and the other from New Jersey--confirmed ... Friday that they received notices from Tinder in the previous 24 hours that their accounts were locked because they had been reported too many times for peppering men on the site with messages promoting Sanders’ candidacy. Robyn Gedrich, 23, said she sent messages to 60 people a day for the past two weeks trying to convince them to support the U.S. senator from Vermont in his race for the Democratic nomination against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
"Do you feel the bern?" her message to other Tinder users read, parroting a Sanders campaign slogan. "Please text WORK to 82623 for me. Thanks."
Goodrich, an assistant store manager at retailer Elie Tahari who lives in Brick, New Jersey, said a text would prompt people to start receiving updates from the Sanders campaign, as well as a link where they could sign up and volunteer.
The second woman, Haley Lent of Iowa, was also allegedly locked out of Tinder after sending messages in support of Sanders. She talked to between 50 and 100 people, even purchasing a Tinder premium membership to promote the candidate to people in New Hampshire. Lent, 22, is married.
According to Tinder’s website, the dating app categorizes asking for money or donations, sending "harassing or offensive messages," and "spam or solicitation, such as attempts to sell products or services" as violations of its terms of use.
Sanders enjoys considerable support among younger voters. The 74-year-old Vermont senator won votes from 84 percent of Iowa voters ages 17 to 29 in the Democratic caucus Monday night.