Following the insurgence of the continued Black Lives Movement and the most recent wave of the Me Too movement in the games industry, major companies are re-evaluating their standards and complicity in terms of toxic behavior. Many streamers and content creators have been removed from Twitch following allegations but the most shocking ban was that on the US President, Donald Trump, for inciting harassment and hate speech.
For those that may not even had been made aware that he even had an account, the Trump Twitch account was used for online broadcasts for presidential rallies and similar events. No, it doesn’t mean he’s the latest drop in Call of Duty: Warzone, but it was being used a promotional tool – that is, until it was axed.
“Hateful conduct is not allowed on Twitch,” a Twitch spokesperson said to Kotaku. “In line with our policies, President Trump’s channel has been issued a temporary suspension from Twitch for comments made on stream, and the offending content has been removed.”
In the email, it was stated that the hateful conduct was cited for when he called Mexican immigrants “rapists back in 2016 that was redistributed through the channel in addition to recent commentary during a Tusla rally using the same comparison to justify non-budget cuts to our police branches.
These are just two examples they provided in a long list of commentary that can be seen on his public Twitter account. The representative then said that the company issued a statement to the president, saying that he and his actions are not above their community standards and as a consequence, the channel has been banned.
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Accountability is key, and this is a good first start, but there are many content creators – nonpresidential content creators – both men and women that are still on the platform despite years of abusive behavior seen on-screen and off-screen. This ban was a long time coming, but Twitch must do so much more than a public ban hammer action to prove to its community that they are taking their community concerns seriously.
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What do you think about the recent bans seen over on Twitch? Do you think this was the right move? Sound off with your thoughts over on Twitter @PrimaGames.
