PewDiePie withdraws $ 50,000 donation to anti-defamation league



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PewDiePiePewDiePiePewDiePie / YouTube

  • PewDiePie initially announced this week that it would give $ 50,000 to the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish anti-hate group.

  • However, in a video released on Thursday, YouTuber said it was canceling its promise after its announcement sparked negative feedback – some anti-Semitic and based on conspiracy theories – from its fans.
  • PewDiePie said he had promised to donate to the ADL in an attempt to get away from controversies of the past, including the New Zealand suspect Christcurch, who reportedly said "Subscribe to PewDiePie "before killing more than 50 people.
  • However, PewDiePie said Thursday that "a lot of things" about the ADL had surfaced since his announcement, and that he preferred to pick a charity that he personally loved. "
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PewDiePie, the famous video game blogger, canceled his pledge to donate $ 50,000 to a Jewish anti-hate group after a revolt by his fans, plunging into a cloud of controversy what was supposed to be a relationship effort public.

The Swedish celebrity YouTube posted a video Thursday in which he announced that he was canceling his initial commitment to the anti-defamation league, claiming that he had learned "a lot" about the group. PewDiePie said he wanted instead to choose a charity that "passionate" him personally and that he did not feel "authentic" to donate to the ADL.

PewDiePie – aka Felix Kjellberg – said a day earlier that he was donating $ 50,000 to "wipe out" previous controversies. This announcement was however condemned by fans, who wondered why PewDiePie was donating to the ADL, a group that had already spoken against him. Some of his fans also evoked conspiracy theories on social media that PLDiePie was blackmailed by the ADL to donate.

Read more: The career of PewDiePie, the controversial 29-year-old who says that he "definitely" is worth more than 20 million dollars

In explaining why he was withdrawing his donation, PewDiePie stated that he "had made the mistake of choosing a charity that I had advised, instead of choosing a charity. which fascinates me personally ". Instead, PewDiePie said he was considering taking the time to choose "correctly" the place of payment of his $ 50,000 donation, which was made possible through a partnership with Honey, the expansion of browser offering coupons.

PewDiePie said Thursday that he considered the donation as an "opportunity" to part with the right-hander. In March, the suspect who was involved in a shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand, had asked his viewers to "subscribe to PewDiePie" for a few moments before more than 50 people were killed.

"[The donation] It was not to try to erase my name or save grace. If that had been the case, I would have done it years ago, "said PewDiePie in his YouTube video." But after the tragedy of Christchurch, I felt the responsibility to do something to this subject because it is no longer just me. It affected other people in a certain way, and that does not suit me. "

PewDiePie has been linked to a number of controversies over the course of almost ten years with YouTuber. He uttered racial slurs and made Nazi jokes in his videos and live broadcasts. In 2017, it was discovered that nine of his videos included "anti-Semitic jokes or Nazi images". Following the revelation, Disney formed a relationship with PewDiePie. a gesture that the ADL has recommended.

"This is clearly a hate speech … PewdiePie's efforts to defend it as an attempt to laugh are baseless," said Jonathan Greeblatt, CEO of ADL, in a statement in 2017. "PewdiePie has not entitled to his ideas, but neither Disney nor any other company has any obligation to support its widespread dissemination of hate speech. "

After PewDiePie announced his first ad on the ADL donation, his fans quickly criticized the YouTuber, a staunch defender of freedom of speech, for giving money to an organization that they believe helped to restrict freedom of speech by controlling hate speech.

"His money would have been used to destroy the livelihoods of other content creators, which is not a reality," said a Reddit user. "I am happy that he has studied them further and that he has seen it."

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