Brand image hit
Just as Kalshi engages in a legal battle pivotal to the future of state regulated sports betting, the last thing it needed was a connection to one of the worst war criminals of all time.
On Christmas Day, a sports betting influencer took to X with a meme featuring NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s face superimposed on a historic still of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler:
The original post by @SkyedOKC displayed a Kalshi-verified logo and spread on social media with multiple meme-style Kalshi affiliated X accounts amplifying the original content, which has since gone viral with nearly one million views.
The post’s virality has, according to reports, triggered outrage with Kalshi moving fast to save reputational damage by cutting ties with Skyed and accounts involved, “revoking their affiliate badges and publicly condemning the posts.”
Untimely exposure
Front Office Sports shared a statement from a Kalshi spokesperson Elisabeth Diana confirming the affiliations were revoked and that the firm prohibits “any content that promotes hate speech.”
The New York-based company said the affiliate badges were meant to indicate “brand affinity,” not brand ambassadorship, and emphasized that the offending X accounts “were not official representatives of Kalshi.”
they’re not acting on our behalf”
Diana added: “Badges are like bumper stickers or team logos – accounts show brand affinity, but they’re not acting on our behalf.”
While Elon Musk introduced an affiliate badge system to signal informal partnerships with popular accounts, FOS cites critics as stating “it blurs the line between independent creators and paid promoters.”
The Hitler controversy fuels criticism that Kalshi’s lax oversight “allowed inflammatory material to circulate under the company’s banner, even if indirectly.”
The lack of oversight accusation will feed right into counter-arguments in a pivotal legal case where Kalshi is fighting against state-regulated sports betting in the Fourth Court of Appeals.
Also on Christmas Day, a coalition of 37 states and D.C. launched an amicus brief against Kalshi in the same court, stating should Kashi win, it would allow betting firms to “bypass state-level consumer protections.”
Simply unreasonable
The post that bypassed Kalshi until it was flagged by Substack author Dustin Gouker was, according to FOS, comparing Silver to Hitler because he was apparently riled that the NBA made the Oklahoma City Thunder play three games against the San Antonio Spurs in 12 days, with the latter winning all three.
For a US brand that has become a household name, associating its logo with the figure responsible for the deaths of over six million Jewish people with a high-profile man of the same faith over a basketball gripe will leave a stain on its brand image.
