Chase Bank to stop using MSNBC’s Ruhle in promotional ads after conflict of interest concerns

Chase Bank will no longer use MSNBC anchor and NBC News senior business correspondent Stephanie Ruhle in promotional videos after questions arose regarding journalistic conflict of interest, an NBC source informed The Hill on Wednesday. 

Ruhle, who anchors “MSNBC Live” weekday mornings and hosts business segments on NBC’s “Today” show, had appeared in a six-minute Chase video along with ESPN’s Jay Williams to discuss financial planning for “life’s unpredictable moments” amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Sept. 22 tweet. 

We’re teaming up with Stephanie Ruhle and Jay Williams to chat about planning for life’s unpredictable moments. Click below to watch the full conversation on-demand — you won’t want to miss it.

— Chase (@Chase) September 22, 2020

.@msnbc anchor/host @SRuhle promotes bank in ad campaign. Unusual for journalist. https://t.co/bHbg2qFucU

— Paul Farhi (@farhip) October 13, 2020

The NBC source told The Hill that Chase has pledged to no longer use Ruhle, who was not paid for the appearance, in any of its promotional content. 

During the video, Ruhle did not promote Chase products or its executives. 

An MSNBC spokesperson told The Hill that the issue was not the interview, but Chase’s framing of it.

“As is a common practice for journalists, Stephanie participated in an interview as a subject matter expert,” the spokesperson said in an email. “The issue was not the interview, but the way Chase promoted and framed it across social media. Chase has since recognized and corrected their mistake.”

Trish Wexler of JPMorgan Chase Corporate Communications told The Hill that Ruhl “was not paid for this financial literacy content.

“It was our mistake to promote it, and we’re sorry,” Wexler added, confirming that Chase has stopped all promotion involving Ruhle.

Journalists at many major organizations, including NBC News and MSNBC, are not permitted to promote specific products or businesses or accept compensation for speaking engagements. 

Ruhle joined MSNBC in 2016 after several years at Bloomberg. 

–Updated on Oct. 15 at 9:04 a.m.