JPMorgan, AT&T pull Twitch ads following antisemitism claims

Three major brands have halted their advertising on Amazon.com Inc.’s Twitch online service, according to people with knowledge of the matter, after a controversial group of livestreamers alleged that the company is promoting antisemitic content. AT&T Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Dunkin’ Brands have all pulled spots from the gamer-oriented service, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing nonpublic information. A fourth sponsor, Chevron Corp., is considering ending future support for the TwitchCon convention after its name appeared in the background of a controversial panel discussion at the annual event. The pressure is coming from online forums and chat rooms associated with Steven “Destiny” Bonnell. Once a popular political commentator on Twitch, he was banned in 2022 for “hateful conduct” after making comments about trans women and defending racial slurs. In numerous YouTube videos, he has attacked rival commentator Hasan Piker, a popular Twitch streamer, including for his criticism of Israel. Although Bonnell said his involvement in the campaign is minimal, his fans have helped make Piker a lightning rod for concerns about antisemitism on Twitch. In an interview, Piker described himself as “an advocate for Palestinian emancipation, but also, a fervent combatter of antisemitism.” It’s an uncomfortable spot for Twitch, which has taken steps to moderate offensive content on its platform and protect advertisers’ images. Since November, the company has asked streamers who discuss politics to label their content as “Politics and sensitive social issues.” That way, sponsors have more control over where their brands show up. The company also barred use of the word Zionism “to attack or demean another individual or group of people on the basis of their background or religious beliefs.” The Anti-Defamation League, a pro-Israel advocacy group that seeks to combat antisemitism, consulted with Twitch and gives the company its highest rating among social-media peers in combating hate — a grade of “B” on a scale from “A” to “F.” “Despite what a handful of online personalities claim, we do not tolerate antisemitism on Twitch,” a Twitch spokesperson said. The person declined to comment on any specific advertiser, and said that its guidelines apply to all streamers “consistently and objectively.” “Supporting advertisers that engage our community to promote their brands and products is critical to Twitch,” the spokesperson added, pointing to the changes that help sponsors control where their spots appear. In recent months, AT&T and Dunkin’ have disappeared from a Twitch page listing current advertisers. The two companies declined to comment, as did JPMorgan. In a statement, Chevron said “derogatory comments made by panelists in one session at the TwitchCon event were deeply hurtful and not aligned with our company’s beliefs.” At that panel, Twitch streamers ranked others by how Arab-friendly they felt they are, with the lowest being “loves Sabra,” a reference to the hummus brand once owned by an Israeli company. Chevron “relied on conference organizers to exercise stringent oversight of presentations and content, and we are disappointed that such divisive rhetoric was allowed onstage,” a company spokesperson said. Twitch later suspended the panelists temporarily. The targeting of Twitch advertisers has been coordinated in forums and online chat rooms, including spaces dedicated to Bonnell on the Reddit social-media service and the Discord chat app. Followers led by Dan Saltman, another online commentator, organized a mass-email campaign to sponsors under a Discord channel titled “Twitch-bans-israel.” Saltman was banned from Twitch in November for “extreme harassment” after leading the advertiser campaign and has cohosted a podcast with Bonnell. In one post, Saltman called for an “all out advertiser blitz.” He said the campaign has reached out to more than 100 advertisers, according to Digiday. Users of the Discord channel have celebrated media coverage accusing Twitch and Piker of antisemitism and have discussed clips that would portray Piker negatively. They’ve also discussed sending emails to members of Congress. In November, US Representative Ritchie Torres, a New York Democrat, wrote a letter to Twitch titled, “Hasan Piker is Dangerous” citing inflammatory quotes from the streamer and accusing him of “Jew-hatred.” Piker told NBC News that many of the videos cited in the letter were taken out of context. He said he was criticizing the Israeli government, not Jewish people. Saltman has also helped coordinate the launch of websites targeting Twitch CEO Dan Clancy and Amazon VP Steve Boom. One, DanClancySucks.com, claims Twitch is “an anti-semitic hellhole,” referencing Piker’s content. A second, SteveBoomSucks.com, links to the other sites. A website, advertiseontwitch.com, helps users send emails to dozens of brands that have partnered with Twitch or sponsored events, including Chevron. One stated that these companies’ ads are “sponsoring Jew hating content.” The emails accused Twitch of suspending “all Israeli accounts for a year” – a claim the company debunked in a recent post on X. While Twitch temporarily suspended email verification of new accounts in Israel and Palestine over concerns of livestreamed violence, the company said it received 100,000 mobile-verified sign-ups from Israel over the past 12 months and saw a 95% increase in hours watched in the region. The website also featured edited clips of Piker’s stream — some of which the streamer said are “inaccurately clipped” and intended to make him appear as “an Islamist fundamentalist.” Bonnell and Saltman dispute this. In an October video, Saltman said his goal was to get Bonnell reinstated on Twitch. In an email to Bloomberg, he said that was a joke and that he wants to drive Clancy from his job. Clancy told Bloomberg in 2023 that he is fond of Piker’s content and admires how he bluntly says what he believes. Critics have accused Piker of being sympathetic to Hamas and other organizations designated as foreign terrorists by the US State Department. He has equated Zionism, the movement to establish and protect the Jewish state, with fascism. He also shared a music video associated with the Houthis, the Yemeni rebel group, while rating music clips from military organizations. The Anti-Defamation League alerted Twitch to concerns over Piker’s Houthi content. The service gave him a warning Piker’s channel was the most-watched on Twitch on election day, at one point attracting over 312,000 live viewers. He has nearly 3 million followers on the platform who also tune in for his progressive commentary on American social issues. The campaigns against Piker and Twitch management have also led to harassment of company employees by supporters of Bonnell and Saltman, including staffers in the trust and safety department. “Allegations of harassment are often made by people who have been exposed for their bigotry, sexism and hatred,” Saltman said. Twitch, however, sees it differently: “The efforts to threaten, harass, and abuse Twitch staff are unacceptable,” the company said. —Bloomberg News

JPMorgan, AT&T pull Twitch ads following antisemitism claims

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