Last Updated on May 5, 2020
Renan Bolsonaro, son of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, was banned from the Twitch for allegedly violating policies relating to “hateful conduct.”
Renan Bolsonaro regularly streamed himself playing video games, such as League of Legends, on Twitch, amassing over 50,000 followers who would tune in to watch him play before his removal from the site.
In a tweet on May 1, Renan said that he was banned from Twitch “forever.” He criticised Twitch for allowing content creators on its site that “clearly disseminate misandry (hatred, contempt or prejudice against men or boys),” but that they “do not support a joke, no matter how heavy.”
Fui banido da Twitch para sempre. Interessante é que a rede social mantém perfis que disseminam claramente a misandria (ódio, o desprezo ou o preconceito contra homens ou meninos), mas não suportam uma brincadeira, por mais pesada que fosse. + pic.twitter.com/V6Bf9FHFJw
— Renan Bolsonaro (@renan_bolsonaro) May 1, 2020
Media reports have argued that Bolsonaro was banned for “spreading disinformation” relating to the coronavirus pandemic. “Go to the streets, okay? What pandemic? This is a media invention to lock you inside your home, so you’ll think the world is crumbling,” Bolsonaro was reported as saying by an English-language news site. “It’s just a little flu brother,” he added.
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A Twitch spokesman clarified to Insider that the ban was only temporary. “In line with our policies on hateful conduct, Renan Bolsonaro has been issued a temporary ban from Twitch for comments made on stream, and the offending content has been removed,” they said in an email.
It is entirely possible that Bolsonaro may have been targeted for his provocative humour and comments, and not for “coronavirus disinformation” – his streams also included jokes about shooting members of other political parties, and similar off-handed comments.
National File reported last week that Bolsonaro Sr criticised the World Health Organization for encouraging homosexuality and masturbation in children. His line of attack related to the World Health Organization’s 2010 report, “Standards for Sexuality Education in Europe,” which included recommending that children aged 0-4 should be given “information about enjoyment and pleasure when touching one’s body,” enabled to “gain an awareness of gender identity,” and given “the right to explore gender identities.”
