Topline
JPMorgan, AT&T and Dunkin’ Brands have pulled advertisements from Twitch following accusations the popular livestreaming platform is promoting antisemitic content, according to Bloomberg, signaling the latest criticism faced by Twitch as it has repeatedly found itself in hot water over antisemitism allegations since October.
Key Facts
The three brands pulled ads from the Amazon-owned platform after it and one of its most popular streamers, Hasan Piker, were accused of antisemitism over streams from Piker regarding Israel’s invasion of Gaza, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed people with knowledge of the matter.
The accusations surfaced in online forums associated with banned Twitch streamers Steven “Destiny” Bonnell and Dan Saltman, who have condemned Piker for his criticisms of Israel.
Piker, a streamer and political commentator, described himself as “an advocate for Palestinian emancipation, but also, a fervent combatter of antisemitism” to Bloomberg, which noted Saltman has blasted Piker’s content and led a mass-email campaign against Twitch calling for advertisers to leave the platform over alleged antisemitism.
Twitch and Piker were the subjects of similar antisemitism allegations last month when Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., wrote a letter blasting Twitch for the “antisemitic and anti-American propaganda emanating from” Piker, characterizing Twitch as “enablers” and citing video clips of the streamer discussing the conflict.
Piker told NBC News many of the clips were taken out of context and that he was criticizing Israel’s government as opposed to Jewish people.
Twitch also found itself in the hot seat in October, when it apologized for not re-enabling email sign-ups for users in Gaza and Israel after it temporarily disabled the sign-ups for accounts in both regions following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel (Twitch said the temporary block was meant to curb graphic posts and that users could still sign up through phone number verification).
Twitch, JPMorgan, AT&T and Dunkin’ Brands did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment.
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Crucial Quote
“Despite what a handful of online personalities claim, we do not tolerate antisemitism on Twitch,” a Twitch spokesperson told Bloomberg, adding its guidelines apply to all streamers “consistently and objectively.”
What To Watch For
Whether more advertisers leave. Bloomberg also named Chevron as an advertiser at odds with Twitch, reporting the energy company is considering cutting ties with the semi-annual TwitchCon convention after its name appeared on stage during a TwitchCon discussion where panelists ranked streamers by how Arab they believed they were (Chevron told Bloomberg the panel’s “derogatory comments” did not align with company beliefs).
Big Number
2.8 million. That is how many followers Piker has on Twitch. The political commentator also has 1.4 million subscribers on YouTube, where clips from his lengthy streams regularly garner between 100,000 and 300,000 views each.
Key Background
Amid the antisemitism allegations, Twitch has tried to better moderate political content on its website. Last month, it asked streamers discussing politics and/or social issues to add a newly introduced political content label to their streams. Streamers who fail to accurately label their streams will be hit with a warning and have the label applied to their stream. Repeat offenders will have the label applied to their channel and won’t be able to remove it for a “set duration,” according to Twitch. The platform also banned the use of the term “Zionist” to attack others on the basis of their backgrounds or beliefs. Twitch’s advertising sales have reportedly plateaued since the COVID-19 pandemic eased up, according to The Wall Street Journal, and streamers appear to be feeling the pressure. Multiple Twitch creators recently reported significant drops in the ad revenue they normally bring in. Jason Frank, also known as “The Stock Guy” on Twitch, said his ad revenue is down 95% after averaging around $3,000 per month through the income source. Though Amazon does not publish financial information about Twitch, the platform accounted for less than 0.5% of Amazon’s total 2023 revenue, the Journal reported, noting Twitch’s biggest payers have been spending less money donating and subscribing to the platform’s creators.
Twitch Drops Revenue Cap For Some Streamers After Major Pushback Against Pay Splits (Forbes)
Amazon Paid Almost $1 Billion for Twitch in 2014. It’s Still Losing Money. (WSJ)
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