How an Irish YouTuber turned a niche following into millions for charities with holiday livestreams

NEW YORK (AP) — Seán McLoughlin wears a lot of hats: YouTuber. Voice actor. Coffee entrepreneur. But McLoughlin, better known by his pseudonym Jacksepticeye, likes to say he would be a therapist if he wasn't posting video game playthroughs for his nearly 31 million subscribers.

The 34-year-old Irish creator finds that gaming enthusiasts aren't just drawn by his expressive reactions to the latest action role-playing games; fans also resonate with his candid discussions of mental health. The supportive responses from his niche but passionate following make McLoughlin feel “less alone,” he said, forging the same camaraderie that brought him to online gaming communities as a lonely 20-something living at his family’s remote home.

That shared connection is also central to his annual fundraiser, “Thankmas." The charity livestream is one of many online specials emerging as a modern spin on the classic telethon. Total donations have increased more than 50% over the last year on Tiltify, a digital platform that integrates giving tools into streams. The spaces are credited for allowing more authentic interactions between nonprofits and young donors — and encouraging benevolence in a corner of the web marked by incendiary rhetoric.

“If you want to do good things, the people are there, and they’ll listen,” McLoughlin said. “They’re already following you for what you do for a reason. So they’ll follow you to help out people as well.”

Follow they have. His streams have raked in more than $26 million, This year's goal is to collect $6 million for two nonprofits supporting mental health: Crisis Text Line and Samaritans.

A seven-figure target would have seemed a longshot when McLoughlin entered the space. The initial idea was to hold monthly fundraisers. He hosted seven charitable streams in 2018, Tiltify records show, for causes including pediatric cancer and clean water. The year culminated in the inaugural "Thankmas," which pulled over a quarter of a million dollars.

But McLoughlin said the pace became “a bit much.” That same year he , in part due to unhappiness from the demands he felt for high content volumes. He resolved to focus on one big holiday event at the end of the year, when he said people are “a bit more giving and heartfelt.”

It wasn't until 2020 that Tiltify CEO Michael Wasserman said the two began working closely to maximize the streams' reach. McLoughlin reached out, according to Wasserman, and said he wanted something “more impactful.” With communities worldwide reeling from the pandemic, they put together the #HopeFromHome campaign: a peer-to-peer event where multitudes could simultaneously rally around the same cause. McLoughlin served as a tent pole supporting the other streamers.

Their first effort together yielded $1.9 million for United Way Worldwide and more than one-third came from McLoughlin’s stream alone. The following “Thankmas” generated more than $4.7 million. Wasserman said he’d never seen his technology used so collaboratively.

“That’s what really made this a regular, multimillion-dollar event," Wasserman said. “Not just making it, ‘Hey I’m going to fundraise and just watch me,' but, ‘We as a community can do this and get involved together.'”

This year's “Thankmas” will be performed before a live audience in Los Angeles but broadcast online. Recent specials have seen McLoughlin make surprise calls into streams that are also pooling contributions. Comedic segments sometimes feature traditional celebrities; actor Jack Black played a life-sized game of Jenga in 2022.

The idea resembles the star-studded telethon pioneered last century by comedian Jerry Lewis. But new technologies and web cultures enable more engaging experiences. Wasserman said charitable livestreams like McLoughlin's are not a “passive watching experience.”

It’s “a much more personable approach to giving,” according to Yvette Wohn, a professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology who studies human-computer interaction.

A streamer’s audience “cares about them,” Wohn said, and donors flock to their content because “they really like that person.” Social media and chat boxes allow fans to feel seen by hosts in ways television viewers could never expect. Followers might get shoutouts by name upon contributing. McLoughlin has previously shared fan art submitted through specific hashtags.

Fandoms also develop subcultures. McLoughlin’s gaming catchphrases are especially popular among his circles. Jacksepticeye content often starts with him shouting, “Top of the morning to ya, laddies!” and fans have uploaded video compilations of the expression. Members then form friendships with others in the fandom. That creates a “positive social pressure” to donate, according to Wohn, helping new generations “dip their toes into building an identity as somebody that gives.”

“Giving habits are things that build over time,” Wohn said. “If younger people start to engage in this culture of giving, I feel like the general culture of giving might expand in ways that cannot be done from a top-down perspective.”

Still, McLoughlin describes online communities as a “double-edged sword.” The “monetization of hate,” he said, is “bigger than it's ever been.” And the desire for acceptance can introduce lonely people to dark pockets of the internet that nevertheless provide kinship.

“Thankmas” aims to prove it's easy to do good online. Yes, he acknowledged, charity work is “quite intimidating." Where is the line between promoting the fundraiser and promoting himself? McLoughlin doesn't know. He just hopes people trust it's coming from the right place.

At least one longtime follower was drawn by McLoughlin's ties to this year's cause. Jack Worthey, a 20-year-old from Texas, said McLoughlin brought much comfort growing up with “similar family troubles." It had been several years since he watched Jacksepticeye content, he said, but he was pulled back by an October video where McLoughlin detailed his journey finding mental health treatment.

Worthey said he wouldn't have looked into "Thankmas" had McLoughlin had not made the promotion so personal. He now plans to raise awareness through digital art. For Worthey, returning to the channel as an adult and seeing the “positive product” has been “really amazing."

“It makes you see what I was enjoying when I was younger in a different light,” Worthey said. "It brings a different type of joy.”

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