Twitch Bans President Donald Trump For “Hateful Conduct”

Spencer Baculi |

Jun 29, 2020

Amazon-owned streaming platform Twitch has banned President Donald Trump for “hateful conduct.”

The Verge reports that President Donald Trump’s Twitch channel was banned due his most recent comments at a rally in Tulsa as well as his announcement to campaign for President of the United States back in 2015.

ESports reporter Rod Breslau details that ban is a suspension. No details on how long the ban will last have been provided.

Breaking: Twitch has suspended (not banned) Donald Trump’s account for hateful conduct

— Rod “4475 SR & Immortal peak” Breslau (@Slasher) June 29, 2020

A Twitch spokesperson told The Verge, “Like anyone else, politicians on Twitch must adhere to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. We do not make exceptions for political or newsworthy content, and will take action on content reported to us that violates our rules.”

When attempting to access President Trump’s Twitch channel, users see the following error message, “Sorry. Unless you’ve got a time machine, that content is unavailable.”

Twitch also reportedly permanently banned popular streamer Dr Disrespect earlier this month.

Dr Disrespect issued a statement confirming he had been banned, but that Twitch did not give him a specific reason.

He wrote on Twitter, “Twitch has not notified me on the specific reason behind their decision… Firm handshakes to all for the support during this difficult time.”

Champions Club,

Twitch has not notified me on the specific reason behind their decision… Firm handshakes to all for the support during this difficult time.

-Dr Disrespect

— Dr Disrespect (@drdisrespect) June 28, 2020

While President Donald Trump and Dr Disrespect have been banned, Twitch recently promoted a stream called Black Power Live with Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors.

Join BLM co-founder @OsopePatrisse, and many more for a livestream benefiting the movement for Black lives.

Tune into Black Power Live. Starts 5pm PT tonight on https://t.co/7M0apwcko3. pic.twitter.com/EwNoyg6nDV

— Twitch (@Twitch) June 27, 2020

Cullors previously described Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh as a “rapist, conservative, white supremacist and now a Supreme Court judge.”

What this confirmation reminds me of so deeply is that we have to organize, strategize, tear down and build up. #Kavanaugh is a rapist, conservative, white supremacist and now a Supreme Court judge. #AllHandsOnDeck now more than ever.

— patrisse cullors (@OsopePatrisse) October 6, 2018

She also accused white women of selling out the United States of America.

That’s including white women who continue to sell out this entire country and our future. White women – be more like #JaneFonda https://t.co/PsMnzAbVmY

— patrisse cullors (@OsopePatrisse) October 8, 2018

These bans to President Donald Trump and Dr Disrespect comes after Twitch announced they would review their Hateful Conduct and Harassment Policies earlier this month in response to numerous sexual misconduct allegations against various streamers on Twitch as well as Twitch employees.

Following these sexual misconduct allegations against various streamers on Twitch, the popular video game streaming platform announced they would take decisive action against those accused by issuing “permanent suspensions.”

Last week, numerous women came forward to discuss their alleged experiences with sexual harassment in the video game industry. Over two-hundred individuals within the industry currently face such accusations, which range from inappropriate flirting to blatant grooming of underage fans.

In the realm of video game streaming, Twitch found itself at the center of the controversy due to the wide-range of accusations against prominent creators and employees on their platform.

Those accused include Paul “Sjin” Sykes, Chris “SupDaily” Thompson, @ProSyndicate, and Twitch’s Director of Partnerships Hassan Bokhari.

On June 24^th, Twitch responded to the growing number of accusations within their specific community in an official blog post, seeking “to provide an update on our investigations into the recent allegations of sexual abuse and harassment involving Twitch streamers and actions we’re taking.”

The blog post begins, “We want to provide an update on our investigations into the recent allegations of sexual abuse and harassment involving Twitch streamers and actions we’re taking. We are reviewing each case that has come to light as quickly as possible, while ensuring appropriate due diligence as we assess these serious allegations.”

Assuring users that they were “reviewing each case that has come to light as quickly as possible, while ensuring appropriate due diligence” in their investigations, Twitch also confirmed that they have “prioritized the most severe cases” and would “begin issuing permanent suspensions in line with our findings immediately.”

The post continues, “We’ve prioritized the most severe cases and will begin issuing permanent suspensions in line with our findings immediately. In many of the cases, the alleged incident took place off Twitch, and we need more information to make a determination.”

They added, “In some cases we will need to report the case to the proper authorities who are better placed to conduct a more thorough investigation. For those who’ve come forward and would like to share additional information, and to anyone who hasn’t shared their experience and wants to do so, you can report confidentially through the reporting tools on each streamer’s channel page.”

The blog post concluded with praise for the “incredible strength, vulnerability, and bravery” of those who have come forward and reasserted their commitment to assessing “accusations against people affiliated with Twitch.”

It read, “Those who have come forward have shown incredible strength, vulnerability, and bravery. We acknowledge that we can’t singlehandedly tackle pervasive issues across the gaming and broader internet communities, but we take our responsibility as a service for our community seriously.”

Finally, they stated, “We will continue to assess accusations against people affiliated with Twitch and explore ways Twitch can collaborate with other industry leaders on this important issue.”

Twitch also detailed their renewed efforts to offer “more tools to combat harassment and hate,” which include “a review of our Hateful Conduct and Harassment policies, enhanced offensive username detection, improvements to AutoMod and our Banned Words list, and other projects focused on reducing harassment and hateful conduct.”

What do you make of Twitch’s recent policy moves and bans?