Activists to give Google petition against RNC sponsorship

Activists will deliver a petition with over 400,000 signatures to Google’s headquarters on Thursday asking the company to refrain from sponsoring the Republican National Convention should Donald Trump become the party’s presidential nominee.

Progressive groups like ColorOfChange, Credo Action and Free Press Action Fund have been pressuring American corporations not to donate to a Republican convention boosting Trump. The groups will fly a plane over Google’s Mountain View, Calif. campus with the message “Google: Don’t be evil. #DumpTrump,” a reference to Google’s famous original corporate motto.

{mosads}Google was a sponsor of the 2012 Republican convention where the party nominated Mitt Romney. A spokesperson for the company did not respond to a request for comment.

Companies are also reportedly becoming wary of the idea of putting their corporate brands next to Trump, who has blazed a path to the nomination by making remarks members of both parties have said are out-of-bounds.

The progressive groups say that the companies, should they choose to sponsor the event, would in effect be offering Trump more legitimacy.

“It is irresponsible and dangerous for corporations like Google and Microsoft to promote Trump’s hate by sponsoring the Republican convention,” said Credo action in a petition sent to its members. “Now is the right time to make clear to Google and Microsoft that they have a choice: either stand up for their declared commitment to diversity and back away from Trump’s hate or publicly align their brands with Trump’s toxic candidacy.”

If companies don’t participate in the Republican convention in Cleveland, it may also mean that they have to skip the Democratic convention — which will take place in Philadelphia.