Brands Leave Twitch Over Antisemitism Claims

Three major brands, including AT&T, pulled their ads off Twitch amid antisemitism claims lobbed by former streamers who were previously booted from the gaming platform, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

JPMorgan Chase and Co. and Dunkin' brands also pulled advertising while Chevron Corp., is mulling ending its support for the TwitchCon convention, according to the report.

At the center of the storm is popular Twitch streamer Hasan Piker. He's the subject of antisemitism claims by former Twitch streamers Steven "Destiny" Bonnell and Dan Saltman, who were booted from the Amazon-owned platform for "hateful content" and "extreme harassment," respectively, Bloomberg reported.

Further, Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., sent a letter to Twitch and Amazon executives in late October to "express alarm" about Piker, whom Torres asserted "has emerged as the poster child for the post-October 7th outbreak of antisemitism in America."

Piker has described himself as "an advocate for Palestinian emancipation, but also, a fervent combatter of antisemitism," according to the report.

Notably, the Anti-Defamation League, a pro-Israel advocacy group that combats antisemitism, gave Twitch a grade of "B" in combatting hate — the highest rating among social media companies — in August 2023. 

Piker, who has amassed 2.7 million followers on Twitch, told NBC News that the clips cited by Torres in his letter were manipulated to be taken out of context.

"You have to just clip stuff in 15-second increments about complex geopolitical situations to be like, See, he means the exact opposite of what he's saying," Piker said, adding he's been critical of Israel. 

Regardless, the massive campaign led by Bonnell, Saltman and their followers in online chatrooms have taken direct aim at Twitch's advertisers, having reached out to more than 100.

"Despite what a handful of online personalities claim, we do not tolerate antisemitism on Twitch," a Twitch spokesperson told Bloomberg, declining to comment on any specific advertiser. "Supporting advertisers that engage our community to promote their brands and products is critical to Twitch."

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