Twitch Removes Amazon’s Anti-Union Ads Following Streamer Criticism

Following criticism from streamers such as Glam Shatterskull and Zombaekillz, and from the media organization More Perfect Union, Twitch has gotten rid of a series of anti-union ads Amazon (Twitch's parent company) ran on the streaming platform. More Perfect Union claims that Amazon created these ads to "scare its Alabama workers about unionizing". These ads were filled with talking points slamming unions, with employees stating there's "great leadership at amazon" and claiming that "unions just take your money and do nothing with it". The ads encourage people (primarily targeting Amazon employees) to vote no on unionization.

In an email, a Twitch spokesperson wrote, "Twitch does not allow political advertising, and these ads should never have been allowed to run on our service, we have removed these ads and are evaluating our review processes to ensure that similar content [like this] does not run in the future. We are grateful to our community for bringing this to our attention." There has been heavy criticism against the ads from various Twitch streamers, for example Zombaekillz claimed it was against their "personal ethics", while others said that Amazon running the ads was "heinous and beyond despicable" and urged followers to use ad blockers on their channels.

Furthermore, these ads are just another example of Amazon's stringent position on unionization. Reports claim that the company has plastered anti-union messaging across the Bessemer warehouse, as well as pestered its employees with anti-union texts attempting to sway opinions against unionizing by using a "#DoItWIthoutDues" social media campaign. It's worth noting that Bessemer is a mostly-Black city in Alabama, with that demographic making up approximately 72% of the population. The median household income there is $31,610.