Amazon-owned streaming platform Twitch has taken a clear stance against its users over the weekend by banning a streamer who was integral to the platform’s massive growth in the past four years, as well as temporarily banning the President of the United States.
Twitch has still refused to provide an explanation for the banning of streaming star Guy “Dr Disrespect” Beahm, who started streaming on the platform in 2015.
The platform’s estimated $5 billion net worth in 2020 is significantly higher than it was in 2016, when Twitch first partnered with Dr Disrespect, who went on to be dubbed “the face of Twitch.”
Dr Disrespect stated on Twitter that Twitch did not notify of him of the reasons behind his sudden deplatforming: “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.”
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
Twitch has also publicly refused to provide an explanation for the reasons behind the ban at the time of this article’s publication.
On Monday, Twitch temporarily suspended President Donald Trump’s account, citing “hateful conduct”:
Twitch has banned the account of President Trump, citing its rules against “hateful conduct,” and claiming the president uploaded video of him engaging in such conduct doing a 2016 campaign rally.
According to a statement released by Twitch, the offending material was campaign video of one of President Trump’s rallies in which he discussed illegal immigration from Mexico and Central America, calling a subsection of illegal immigrants “criminals” and “rapists.”
A second video was also found to be “hateful,” a more recent clip from President Trump’s rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, featuring the president refer to a “rough hombre.”
The purge of Dr Disrespect and Trump comes just over a month after Twitch formed a “safety advisory council” that included an ADL-affiliated streamer who promised to “come for harmful people”:
Streaming giant Twitch made the bizarre decision to create a “Safety Advisory Council” this week, and amongst the newly appointed members is a transgender otherkin “deer-girl” named Steph Loehr, who goes by Ferociously Steph on Twitch.
Loehr has a history of making false statements and propagating inflammatory opinions about gaming, including the statement, “I think a lot of you gamers are white supremacists, just a fact, of how I feel.”
Loehr later gloated about the newfound power granted by Twitch on a livestream: “I’m not going anywhere, I have power, they’re not going to take it away from me, there, there, these, there are some people who should be afraid of me, and they are, because I represent moderation and diversity and I’m, um, I’m gonna come for harmful people.”
Perhaps the most disturbing part of Twitch’s decision to appoint Loehr as a “safety advisor” is the fact that Loehr has ties to the Anti-Defamation League, an extreme-left organization that supports deplatforming and political censorship.
Twitch also recently banned the son of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Renan Bolsonaro, citing “hateful conduct” after Renan published a video criticizing the public response to COVID-19.
