CitizenGO
An international ultra-conservative advocacy organization founded in Madrid in 2013 that uses online petitions and campaigning to promote Christian-conservative causes.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
CitizenGO is an international advocacy organization established in Madrid, Spain, in September 2013 by HazteOir, the Spanish organization founded by lawyer Ignacio Arsuaga in 2001. It was created to extend HazteOir's online-petition model beyond Spanish-speaking countries and to make internet-based political activism a central vehicle for mobilizing citizens, donors, and campaign supporters. The organization presents itself as a civic-action platform defending what it describes as traditional Christian and family values. Its campaigns have generally opposed abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, LGBTQ-rights initiatives, liberalized reproductive-health policies, and measures associated with what it calls gender ideology or radical secularism. It has also campaigned against entertainment and media content that it considers offensive to Christianity. Its petition-based activities have targeted public institutions, technology and entertainment companies, schools, courts, and national governments. CitizenGO has stated that it maintains staff in multiple cities across three continents and supports campaigns in roughly 50 countries and eight languages. Its operating model relies primarily on online petitions, email and social-media mobilization, public advocacy, and donations from supporters. The organization has been particularly active in Europe, Latin America, Africa, and international debates involving the United Nations and European institutions. The group's public profile has been shaped by its connections with wider conservative and religious networks. Its board and associated leadership have included figures linked to anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ, family-policy, and Christian-conservative organizations. Commentators and researchers have described CitizenGO as part of broader transnational anti-gender and far-right campaigning networks. The European Commission has identified CitizenGO among important organizers or founders of far-right campaigns in Europe and the United Kingdom, while feminist scholar Judith Butler has characterized it as a significant participant in the global anti-gender movement. CitizenGO has also attracted controversy over alleged links to El Yunque, a secretive organization of Mexican regional origin, and over the involvement of board member Luca Volontè in the Azerbaijani laundromat affair. In 2021, Volontè was convicted in Italy and sentenced to four years in prison for accepting bribes from Azerbaijan in return for suppressing criticism of Azerbaijan's human-rights record; reporting cited by the organization's Wikipedia article states that some laundered funds were transferred to CitizenGO. The organization remains active as a digital advocacy platform. Its campaigns illustrate a strategy of combining petitions, coordinated social-media activity, calls for consumer boycotts, and pressure on legislators or companies. Its supporters view it as a means of increasing participation by socially conservative citizens, while critics accuse it of disseminating misinformation, opposing LGBTQ and reproductive rights, and contributing to polarization in democratic debate.
History
CitizenGO's institutional predecessor was HazteOir, founded in Spain in 2001 by lawyer Ignacio Arsuaga. HazteOir developed an online petition and mobilization model focused on socially conservative and Catholic causes. In September 2013, HazteOir established CitizenGO in Madrid as an international expansion of that model. The new organization sought to coordinate campaigns outside the Spanish-speaking world and to use internet petitions as a mechanism for public participation and political pressure. CitizenGO's advocacy has centered on abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, LGBTQ rights, reproductive health, sex education, and opposition to policies identified by the organization with secularism or gender ideology. Its campaigns have also extended to cultural and commercial issues, including objections to entertainment portraying Christianity in ways it considers offensive. The group has promoted petitions directed at national governments, the European Parliament, courts, schools, broadcasters, streaming services, and major entertainment companies. The organization has described itself as having team members in 15 cities across three continents, conducting campaigns in about 50 countries and eight languages. It has said that its work is financed through online donations from members and supporters. Álvaro Zulueta was identified as its chief executive after its foundation. Its trustees and associated figures have included Ignacio Arsuaga, Walter Hintz, Blanca Escobar, Luca Volontè, Brian S. Brown, Gualberto García, Alexey Komov, Alejandro Bermúdez, John-Henry Westen, and Carlos Polo. CitizenGO has been placed by researchers and public institutions within broader transnational conservative and far-right campaigning networks. It has been linked, as was HazteOir, to El Yunque, a secretive organization with Mexican regional origins. Researchers have also described CitizenGO as part of an international anti-gender movement and as a network involved in opposition to transgender rights. The European Commission has identified the organization among important founders of far-right campaigns in Europe and the United Kingdom. The group's public controversies include its support for Russia's 2013 law presented by its proponents as a child-protection measure but widely criticized as anti-LGBTQ; campaigns opposing abortion and euthanasia; and activities in Kenya. A 2021 Mozilla Foundation investigation reported that CitizenGO Africa opposed decriminalization of homosexuality and participated in social-media activity spreading disputed or misleading claims about reproductive-health policy, including proposed surrogacy guidelines. Another major controversy involved Luca Volontè. In 2021, he was sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted of accepting bribes from Azerbaijan in the Azerbaijani laundromat affair, allegedly in exchange for suppressing a critical human-rights report. Reference material concerning CitizenGO states that some of the laundered funds were transferred to the organization. This episode intensified scrutiny of CitizenGO's governance and international relationships. CitizenGO remains an active online advocacy organization. Its influence derives less from conventional commercial products than from petition infrastructure, international supporter lists, coordinated communications, and partnerships with aligned conservative organizations. Supporters present these activities as democratic participation by socially conservative citizens; critics view them as organized opposition to LGBTQ, reproductive, and gender-equality rights and as a source of misinformation and political polarization.
- 2021
Volontè receives prison sentence
[1]Board member Luca Volontè was sentenced to four years in the Azerbaijani bribery case, with reported financial links to CitizenGO.
- 2019
Campaigns target entertainment and media companies
[1]CitizenGO campaigned against Netflix funding related to abortion litigation and against DC Vertigo's planned Second Coming comic.
- 2013
CitizenGO is established in Madrid
[1]HazteOir founded CitizenGO to internationalize its online-petition and conservative civic-action activities.
- 2013
Declaration supporting Russia's gay-propaganda law
[1]CitizenGO endorsed a declaration supporting Russian legislation that restricted material described as promoting homosexuality.
- 2001
HazteOir is founded
[1]Ignacio Arsuaga founded HazteOir in Spain, creating the organizational predecessor and campaigning model later associated with CitizenGO.
Products and positioning
A transnational digital civic-action platform for Christian-conservative and socially traditional causes.
Digital advocacy · 2013
Online petition platform
CitizenGO's principal offering is a multilingual online petition and campaigning platform. It allows the organization and aligned groups to frame policy demands, collect supporter signatures, distribute calls to action, and direct pressure toward governments, institutions, companies, and media organizations. The platform is supported by email, social-media, and donation-based mobilization rather than by conventional commercial products.
Civic campaigning · 2013
International conservative advocacy campaigns
These campaigns address abortion, euthanasia, family policy, LGBTQ rights, reproductive health, gender issues, Christian expression, and related cultural questions. CitizenGO operates across national markets by translating and adapting campaigns for local audiences, with reported activity in approximately 50 countries and eight languages.
Controversies
2021
Azerbaijani laundromat and Luca Volontè
CitizenGO board member Luca Volontè was sentenced to four years for accepting bribes from Azerbaijan in connection with efforts to suppress a human-rights report. Reference material states that some laundered funds were transferred to CitizenGO.
2021
Kenya misinformation allegations
A Mozilla Foundation investigation alleged that CitizenGO Africa helped spread misinformation about Kenyan reproductive-health policy and used paid or coordinated social-media participation.
Marketing campaigns
- 2021Remove Paradise PD episode Trigger Warning
International
CitizenGO petitioned Netflix to remove an episode depicting Jesus in violent and sexualized scenes that the group considered offensive.
- 2021Kenya reproductive-health and LGBTQ campaign
Kenya
CitizenGO Africa opposed decriminalization of homosexuality and used online messaging to challenge proposed reproductive-health and surrogacy guidelines.
Outcome. A Mozilla Foundation investigation criticized the campaign's use of disputed claims and coordinated social-media activity.
- 2019Stop Netflix support for Georgia abortion litigation
United States and international Netflix audience
CitizenGO promoted a Right to Life petition opposing Netflix support for a legal challenge to Georgia's abortion restriction and encouraged subscription cancellations.
- 2019Second Coming petition
United States and international
The organization asked DC Vertigo to cancel Second Coming, objecting to its depiction of Jesus Christ.
Outcome. The creator later requested the return of the series' rights, and it was no longer published by DC Vertigo.
- 2018Cancel Disneyland Paris Magical Pride
France and Europe
CitizenGO petitioned Disneyland Paris to cancel its scheduled pride parade.
Outcome. The Walt Disney Company rejected the request and the parade went ahead.
- 2013Support for Russia's gay-propaganda law
International
CitizenGO signed a declaration supporting Russian legislation presented as protecting children from exposure to homosexuality.
Outcome. The law remained in force and was widely criticized for enabling anti-LGBTQ discrimination and hostility.
Brand decisions
2013
Internationalize HazteOir's petition modelStrategyBackground
HazteOir sought to move beyond a primarily Spanish-speaking audience and broaden conservative online activism internationally.
Action taken
It established CitizenGO as a multilingual, international petition and advocacy platform.
Aftermath
CitizenGO reported campaign activity in approximately 50 countries and eight languages.
Recent events
- 2021
CitizenGO campaign seeks removal of Paradise PD episode[1]
Campaign
CitizenGO sought to have the Paradise PD episode Trigger Warning removed from Netflix, objecting to its depiction of Jesus Christ.
- 2019
CitizenGO challenges DC Vertigo's Second Coming comic[1]
Campaign
CitizenGO organized a petition objecting to the planned comic series Second Coming, arguing that its treatment of Jesus Christ was blasphemous. The project was later withdrawn from DC Vertigo after its creator requested the return of the rights.
- 2019
CitizenGO backs campaign against Netflix support for Georgia abortion litigation[1]
Campaign
CitizenGO promoted a petition by Right to Life asking Netflix to stop funding a legal challenge to Georgia's abortion restriction and encouraged subscribers to cancel their memberships.
- 2018
CitizenGO petitions against Disneyland Paris pride parade[1]
Campaign
The organization circulated a petition asking Disneyland Paris to cancel its planned Magical Pride parade scheduled for June 2019. Disney rejected the request and the event proceeded.
- 2013
CitizenGO campaigns against Russian legislation described as protecting children from homosexuality[1]
Campaign · Regulation
CitizenGO signed a declaration supporting Russia's so-called gay-propaganda law. Critics argued that the measure contributed to a hostile environment for LGBTQ people and was followed by an increase in reported hate crimes.
Sources2 sources
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