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PewDiePie donates $50,000 to the Anti-Defamation League to apologize for Christchurch Shooting, surprises some "fans"

vestan

vestan

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PewDiePie pledges $50,000 to the Anti-Defamation League, spurring bizarre conspiracy theories
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Via The Verge and Dexerto

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After years of hard work, PewDiePie became the first individual Youtuber to break through the 100 million subscriber mark late in August. His channel is by far the biggest on the platform for a solo content creator, garnering millions of views on every video.
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Felix "PewDiePie" Kjellberg announced in a video on Tuesday that he would be donating $50,000 to the Anti-Defamation League in an attempt to make amends and "move on" after a shooter in Christchurch, New Zealand, said "Subscribe to PewDiePie" before carrying out his attack last spring. "As an additional celebration, I will be donating $50,000 to the Anti Defamation League, which is an organization that fights bigotry and prejudice in all its forms," he said.
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"Making a donation to the ADL doesn't make sense to everyone, especially since they've outright spoken against me," Kjellberg said in a statement posted to Twitter. "I think it's important, this just isn't my fight anymore." Kjellberg's decision to donate the money became a conspiracy among some commenters after his announcement on Tuesday. Anti-Semitic comments suggested that he was blackmailed by the ADL — a Jewish anti-hate group — in order to be in good standing again on YouTube and in the media. On Wednesday, Kjellberg posted a statement on Twitter in light of the conspiracies, saying he's making the donation to "move past" his controversies.
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Kjellberg has oftentimes been steeped in controversy for using racist language or anti-Semitic imagery in his videos. After paying two men on Fiverr to hold up a sign that said "death to all Jews" in 2017, Disney severed ties with him. ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt congratulated Disney for its move soon after the decision was made. Because of his history with the organization, fans were surprised at his decision, which has pushed for stricter quarantine of hate speech on online platforms, going after major content creators like the Swede.
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Reddit user 'unpopularxopinions' said "I don't like that PewDiePie is funding the ADL's bullshit," while 'shortcutone' argued "there are way better organizations to be donating to for this issue." Another said "the fact of the matter is that the ADL is notorious for censorship and they unfairly slandered PewDiePie and done that to numerous groups/people. The fact that he donated $50k to them is disrespectful to all of the people they've attacked."
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Comments about the donation have been removed from the video after some fans criticized the decision. PewDiePie's editor asked fans to "stop", calling the complaints a conspiracy theory, instead of just congratulating him on reaching 100 million subs.
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More at the two articles linked above. A lot of anti-semetic rhetoric has risen from this suggesting he was blackmailed by the ADL. Seems a lot of people have issue with the organization he chose to donate to, though personally I don't think it's as deep as they're making it out to be with all the conspiracies and what not.

 
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Slayven

Slayven

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If he goes through with it, it would be a hell of a start to redemption
 
Lunaray

Lunaray

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He's still not admitting he did anything wrong. "My clash with the MSM was manipulated into a tool of destruction". Uh-huh.

Still great to see the meltdown though.
 
Xiaomi

Xiaomi

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Oct 25, 2017
7,237
Could have picked a much better organization. ADL promotes apartheid, white supremacy, and islamophobia on the regular. The alt-right should feel right at home with them.
 
Hektor

Hektor

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Oh wow 50K? That's almost 0.2% of his estimated net worth

€: Wrong math lol, legitimately embarassed by that omg. But it doesn't change the point i'm tryna make.
 
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GameAddict411

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Oct 26, 2017
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If this is genuine, it's great news. I hope he can also work in preventing online radicalization. His viewers are the most vulnerable to this.
 
QuantumZebra

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Lunaray said:
He's still not admitting he did anything wrong. "My clash with the MSM was manipulated into a tool of destruction". Uh-huh.

Still great to see the meltdown though.
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Yea I mean its about as non-apologetic as it gets... but he DID put his money where his mouth is.

Granted with his income, $50k may not be much, but it's still sginificant.

Seeing alt-right meltdowns is gonna be so good.
 
Nightwing Fan Shan

Nightwing Fan Shan

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Jan 9, 2018
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Good step. Could've done it sooner, but he did it nonetheless and at least it's something he wants to do right now and not later.

Glad to see some of the alt-right having a meltdown about this, though. Always fun to see them lose their heads.
 
Landford

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This goes straight against the image of he using the alt-right to boost himself. They will have to melt their heads with mental gymnastics to rationalize their "idol" is donating to this cause.

If he goes through with it, it can only be a good thing.
 
Orion117

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Thread about this on PDP submission popped up on reddit for me. Some people there are inconsolable. They genuinely believe he is being threatened.
 
sersteven

sersteven

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Oct 25, 2017
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Edit: Didn't know about the ADL outside the frontfacing message. Makes even more sense now.

Also, Dude is worth millions, 50K to a charity is nothing to him.
 
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Mobyduck

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This is like Notch donating to AGDQ. The money is appreciated, doesn't mean the person donating it is less of a bigot.

 
Squarehard

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I'm curious what kind of conspiracies would've came up by his "fans" if he donated an amount like $500k.

Maybe he'd been replaced with a robot?

It's a start I guess. He's still got a long way to go.
 
Buzzman

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Wait...that post is from him?
From the way it's written it sounds like some nazi/globalist conspiracy garbage whining about the "MSM".

And honestly, a millionaire donating 50k to an at-best questionable organization is not going to somehow clear away any wrongdoings.
 
theme park joe

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Lunaray said:
He's still not admitting he did anything wrong. "My clash with the MSM was manipulated into a tool of destruction". Uh-huh.

Still great to see the meltdown though.
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Yeah this seems like a save face than an actual "oh wow yeah this is a problem". He wants a quick fix for a much deeper problem. For everyone hurt by his words and actions this doesn't really show a real change in the foundation, just a papering over the cracks.
 
Ananasas

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I learned from resetera that if you done anything bad in your life it's impossible to redeem yourself.
 
Darryl M R

Darryl M R

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If the check clears then I'm down to watch his redemption arc.

Maybe he will come up with a better letter that takes more accountability over his past actions too.

Though I have always said, I'm tired of reading and hearing words. Put up money if you are truly sorry.
 
Nacho

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Oct 25, 2017
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I mean, he's starting to understand that there's responisbility that comes with his position and what he says and does matters. But he's still blaming shit on the media when it's them literally reporting on the shit he's said and done.

Whatever, he's growing and that's a good thing I guess.
 

mclem

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Oct 25, 2017
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This is an excellent step; hopefully there are more steps in a similar direction to come.
 
excelsiorlef

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It's amazing that even while donating 50k he has to look like an ass by claiming the Mainstream Media misrepresented him and that's why his name was used in the Christchurch shooting
 

Deleted member 58846

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Mobyduck said:
This is like Notch donating to AGDQ. The money is appreciated, doesn't mean the person donating it is less of a bigot.
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ADL is literally an anti-bigotry league. Him donating to them indicates he is willing to use his "brand" to stand against bigotry, no matter what he did in the past.

People on Era need to learn that a person is not worth one act, and one act alone. PDP is a shithead, and has acted like one in the past. That doesn't mean he can't try to change, or that he can't put himself on a path to redemption. He can, and hopefully he goes through with it. We should be hoping for that, for him as a person to be redeemed, and him as a public figure to be making a stand for the right thing, rather than continuing to treat him with suspicion when he is literally putting his money where his mouth is for the right thing. I understand being wary, so am I. But don't be so quick to dismiss the possibility of someone growing and getting better with time. Too many people on Era, most people on Era, fail to account for that, in their haste to "cancel".
 
LavaBadger

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It's a positive thing.

But for folks to "move on" his long term behavior has to reflect these values.
 

Deleted member 58846

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Ananasas said:
I learned from resetera that if you done anything bad in your life it's impossible to redeem yourself.
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Yeah, I get holding people responsible for their shit, and I get that some wrongs can't and shouldn't be cleared away, but people on this site are literally incapable of entertaining the notion of someone having grown as a person, changed their views, or just having become a better human being.
 
Buzzman

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I don't think anyone would suddenly believe Trump wasn't a racist shithead if he donated a small amount to perhaps RAICES or NAACP.
In fact most people would facepalm at how obvious of an attempt at damage control that would be.
 
Jessie

Jessie

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PDP seems like he's matured quite a bit this year. I appreciate it. I just hope he really means it and he doesn't go back to his old ways when no one's scrutinizing him.
 
mael

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theme park joe

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The One Who Knocks said:
Yeah, I get holding people responsible for their shit, and I get that some wrongs can't and shouldn't be cleared away, but people on this site are literally incapable of entertaining the notion of someone having grown as a person, changed their views, or just having become a better human being.
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It's hard for me to think he's grown and changed as a person if he's spouting the same "MSM are out to get me and misreport the Christ Church shootings!" lines.
 
Gobias-Ind

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Fine and cool and whatever. I'm not the target for his content, so I've never been a fan, but this is money well spent and I appreciate the opportunity this gives some Hardcore Real Gamers to show their asses
 
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