October has been an interesting month for Twitch, to say the least. Among recent news is the announcement that prominent Twitch streamer Shroud is making the move to Mixer. His switch follows that of Ninja, who is enjoying his new home over on Microsoft’s rival platform.
Twitch has also kept up with controversial and inconsistent bans, many of them targeting female streamers’ clothing choices. However, these moderation issues are minor in comparison to some truly horrific things which happened on the platform this month.
President Donald Trump Joins Twitch
President Donald Trump is no doubt looking to reach out to a wider audience and improve his standing in the polls but Twitch is an incredibly bizarre way to do this. Since the president blamed video games for America’s mass shootings, no one has yet figured out why a platform for gamers seemed like a wise move to connect to people.
At the time of writing, he has broadcast three political rallies with a promise of more to come. While the first one gained over 100,000 views, the two after have both attracted less than 10,000. It seems like this may prove to be a bad move for the president, whose chat channel is already increasingly toxic.
Unfair Bans Cause Distress For Streamers
Twitch continues to have issues with controversial bans and inconsistent moderation this month.
October began with South Korean streamer “Velvet_7” experiencing a panic attack live on stream. This happened as a result of an “accidental” suspension, which came only a week after a 5-week ban which Twitch admitted was an “error”. While she’s back on the platform now, the experience has clearly taken a toll on her.
Another streamer who had viewers worried about their mental health was Dellor, who ended up in hospital after his ban sparked a mental health crisis.
Most recently “Exohydrax” was banned due to her “suggestive clothing” after a large group of trolls spammed her channel with racial slurs and mass reported her.
It appears that these controversial bans, which have huge effects on those who rely on the platform for an income especially, aren’t going away anytime soon.
Inappropriate Comments Make An Unwelcome Return
Unfortunately, another issue that never seems to go away is that of streamers making inappropriate comments on their live streams.
This month’s Twitch user banned for using the n-word on stream is WWE pro wrestler Randy Orton, who uttered the racist slur during a Call of Duty stream. The incident is only the latest of many, showcasing the fact that gamers need to do better. A culture of using racial and homophobic slurs as “trash talk” has led to this being a sadly frequent occurrence.
October’s other prominent streamer who has come under fire for inappropriate comments is Zack “Asmongold” who exposed his frankly horrifying opinion of those with mental health issues. He claims that he “cuts them out of his life” and he “does not deal with them” as they are “disgusting.”
While he may have been trying to refer specifically to seemingly unstable trolls who threaten streamers, his statements are highly inappropriate and potentially incredibly damaging.
Streamer Stalkers Are Exposed
One of the more terrifying things to happen on Twitch this month is the exposure of stalkers. The most recent incident concerns Amouranth, whose fans raised concerns after a man was spotted following her and snapping photos during a recent IRL live stream.
While nothing has been proved, this is not the only case of harassment exposed on the platform this month.
Earlier this month Twitch streamer Lisa “STPeach” Vannatta confronted a user who goes by the name “jacknbaking” exposing threats made against her. She uploaded screenshots of messages to Imgur and told chat users about having her personal information leaked and being harassed. It’s currently unknown if Vannatta has approached the police in regard to this issue.
Shooter Livestreams Violent Criminal Acts
This final entry is likely to be one of the most horrific and sickening things ever seen on Twitch as an act of terrorism was live-streamed on the platform.
During Yom Kippur, a religious day of atonement, a shooting took place near a synagogue in Halle, Germany. The terrorist sickeningly live-streamed 35 minutes of footage before being cut off.
The stream was posted in the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive section of Twitter under the categorization “disgusting,” which is certainly true. Our hearts go out to all the victims of this tragedy and anyone affected by these sickening events.
