Accused of bias and potential conflict of interest, streamer Ultia removed from a CNC commission

The National Center for Cinema and Animated Images (CNC) announced Thursday that it had ended “with immediate effect” to the functions of the streamer Ultia, whose real name is Carla Giardina, within the commission of the creation aid fund for social platforms, even before she sat on it. In question, statements made live on Twitch by the content creator on Wednesday.

During her stream, the content creator had just announced her integration into the system «CNC Talent» for the next two years. “I am a jury for CNC Talent, which is in fact a monetary aid fund for web content creators”she explained in the preamble. She then detailed her way of envisioning this role, sparking strong reactions online. “If this is a project deliberately proposed by someone from the far right, sorry, well no, actually!”she said, wanting to avoid giving her vote for creators “into weird things” or “in scandals”. Before adding: “If tomorrow, Rivenzi (a streamer close to Ultia, Editor’s note) posts a project for the CNC, it’s obvious that I’m going to be in mode: “Well yeah man, take your money from the CNC and do your project!” I support you!”

Controversial remarks

The streamer also detailed the rules governing the commission. “We have an obligation to leave the room if it is a project of ours: we cannot provide funding,” she told her community. However, she insisted on her personal positioning: “If there are projects carried out by people that I like, it is obviously obvious that, if I find the project relevant, I will “sauce” the project,” she added, specifying that the projects “are not anonymized”. These comments surprised some Internet users on social networks, who pointed out the lack of neutrality and a risk of conflict of interest.

In the wake of these comments, the CNC indicated Thursday in a press release that it had “taken note of the public statements” of the streamer, believing that they “clearly contravene the obligation of neutrality, independence and impartiality” imposed on the members of these commissions. The institution clarified that these principles are “notably recalled in the internal regulations”. “As a result, the CNC terminated Ultia’s functions within this commission with immediate effect”adds the establishment on X.

The streamer made her arguments Thursday evening on Twitch. “If I had been faced with a project and I knew the person, it’s obvious that I would have said I knew the person”she declared, recalling not having “free pass” making a project “valid”. The content creator reported on her «choc» regarding this decision, claiming to have not been “at no time” aware of a “duty of reserve” suitable for its new functions. “It was more a discussion around objectivity and subjectivity rather than a discussion around the CNC”she added.

For her part, streamer Modiie, also a member of a CNC commission and columnist for Blast, reacted by emphasizing “the need to follow [le] regulations » of the institution. However, she said to herself “alarmed by the fact that an X post could put pressure on a commission in this way”evoking «menaces» visible under the CNC publication. Finally, she recalls that decisions are collegial and that “projects [qu’elle a] poorly rated” can nevertheless be financed.