A new report alleges that as much as 42% of charity donations raised through streams featuring Ludwig, Asmongold, xQc and more was never given over to the stated charity.
The Jacob Wolf Report reports that Softgiving, an Atlanta-based marketing company, played “middleman” between big-name streamers and a charity called Games for Love.
Over the course of two years, streams for Games for Love, as well as other charities, featuring as many as 37 creators raised almost $6.2 million.
“Yet, according to public records, almost half of that money never went to charity,” the Jacob Wolf Report states.
Over 2020 and 2021, the report claims that of the $6.2 million raised by Softgiving (now renamed as Brandfluence) and the streamers, “$2.6 million went to Softgiving to cover its commission and expenses, including influencer fees, those public records show.”
Additionally, for 18 months of that period, “Softgiving did not prominently disclose on donation pages” that there were expenses paid to the influencers that would cut into the total amount raised, nor how much Softgiving retained as a commission.
Games For Love has since responded to the report, disputing the claims.
The figures cited in the article are significantly inaccurate. During the years referenced, Games For Love received funds raised from these campaigns through various channels not just the donor-advised fund.
— Games For Love (@GamesForLoveorg) December 21, 2023
“The figures cited in the article are significantly inaccurate,” they said. “During the years referenced, Games For Love received funds raised from these campaigns through various channels not just the donor-advised fund.”
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Prior to the publication of the report, Brandfluence filed a lawsuit against Jacob Wolf, one of its authors, on December 14, as well as four others including a former Twitch employee and a software engineer. The suit alleges that he had defamed the company, and an attorney demanded that the report not be published.
Softgiving also told The Jacob Wolf Report that “it no longer holds performance-based contracts with any nonprofits.”
The full report details the various livestreams, featuring creators like xQc, Asmongold, Ludwig, the Botez sisters, AustinShow, and various members of One True King (OTK).
Ryan Morrison, who represents xQc, the Botez sisters, and AustinShow told The Jacob Wolf Report in 2021 that he wasn’t told “how the company compensated itself or the influencers.”
“We weren’t aware of this information at the time. And now that we are, we will not be working with Softgiving anymore,” Morrison said.
The report also highlights a February 2023 charity stream by Hasan, which caused widespread backlash and criticism from fellow streamers including IShowSpeed, when a “templated version” of Softgiving’s commission contract was posted on Twitter – by the software engineer now named in the defamation suit filed by Softgiving.
