Riot Games tweeted to VALORANT players requesting donations to aid relief work in Southeast Asia-and boy, were the replies one-of-a-kind. Everything the internet could think of-from allegations of a tax write-off to the demand to fix ranked-were hurled at them.
Then in turn, Riot began posting the link from the official VALORANT account to encourage customers to donate for Southeast Asia disaster relief. Pretty straightforward? NOPE. Almost instantly that tweet became slaughter ground for hot takes, conspiracies, and of course, random game grievances.
Breaking Down the Drama
1. Tax Write-Off Conspiracy
The most common argument: This is just an opportunity for Riot to tax-write-off all the donations. User @blao131 termed it “Absolutely disgusting,” whereas @MasterL65521 said: *”If you donate via these companies, it’ll be a tax write-off for them.”* But @TansWorld4 came back with: *”That’s not how it works; all business expenses are a tax write-off.”*
Verdict: Mixed. Donations *can* be tax-deductible, but it’s not like Riot’s pocketing the cash. Still, the optics? Not great.
2. “Fix the Game First” Brigade
Classic gamer move: hijack a charity post to demand patches. @bull_red35020: *”Fix ranked and cheaters first THX.”* @mavrecc even suggested: *”Give us refund tickets for skins, THEN we’ll donate.”* Priorities, people.
3. Theo-GEO Political Side-Eye
Some users condemned the Palestine-Ukrain controversy with demands. @Arc_sakura told: *”Do it for Palestine,”* while @TansWorld4 shot back at one user: *”I can’t believe you talked about Palestine and not Ukraine.”*
Meanwhile, @6666666cm went full rage mode: *”Why do U Westerners like to create this kind of image-Do U think people won’t be disgusted?”* Yikes.
4. The Rare Positive Note
Shoutout to @YuuMino_, who thanked Riot for highlighting Myanmar’s crisis: *”-A lot of media forgot to mention Myanmar even though it’s the center of the earthquake.”*
The Big Question: Would You Donate?
Direct help, of course, by verified org-in-your-own-WORLD-to-do-so. On the drama side-popcorn time, alternatively.
Final Thought: Next time, Riot may consider starting an appeal for a charitable cause with the pledge, *”We will be matching donations.”* Just a thought.
