Twitch Crackdown: Multiple Streamers Banned by Twitch
Twitch has taken a strong stand against the term “cracker” over recent days. Amazon’s streaming giant has been failing to protect creators of color for years and now appears to be deciding to tackle “anti-white” racism.
The story began when Hasan Piker, a popular streamer, was banned from saying “cracker,” a term often used to refer to white people demeaningly. It’s 2021, and we have all become soup-crazy. Some argue that white people being called “cracker,” a derogatory term often used against black people, is as offensive as the many other slurs they have dealt with over the centuries.
After two Twitch mods from Hasan were suspended for using the term, a debate erupted. The streamer was quick to oppose the suspensions but was eventually banned.
This has led to a more extensive debate among Twitch content creators over whether the word can be used. As the debate continues, Twitch seems to have decided which side it wants. Two more broadcasters were suspended on the last day – possibly one for life.
On December 14, VaushVidya (82k subscribers) and Fawn (332k followers each) were removed from Twitch.
Vaush called the current wave bans a “massacre”, before stating that they were proud of Twitch for taking a stand against racism.
Fawn later shared her belief on Twitter that her ban is “for exactly the same thing”.
Twitch’s community guidelines about slurs state: “Using hateful words, either untargeted nor directed towards another person. When the intent is clear, certain words and terms that might violate our policy are allowed to be used in an empowering manner or as terms of endearment.
These guidelines include “entering a conversation and spamming one slur”, targeting an individual with a hateful slur based upon a protected characteristic” as well as “calling another player an angry slur while streaming.”
Twitch was added in 2020 as a result of a search for clearer guidelines.
