Category: Uncategorized

Twitch indefinitely bans Christian streamer for “hateful conduct” Twitter, @DrWitnesser / TwitchSelf-proclaimed “esports missionary,” ‘DrWitnesser,’ has been indefinitely banned from Twitch following numerous scandals from his attempts to preach the gospel during Fortnite games. White or black button-up, bright orange tie, rectangular optical frames and a manicured chin-strap beard – DrWitnesser paints a unique picture as a Twitch streamer. And, just as his facial hair is devoid of a mustache, the gaming missionary preaches a life devoid of sin. In the past, these efforts to spread the gospel have boiled up into uncomfortable moments with Fortnite’s younger players. In one particularly heated moment, the streamer was banned for seven days by Twitch for telling a Muslim child that he would be “sentenced to hell.” Now, it appears that the streaming platform has found more evidence of unsavory behavior, prompting staff to levy an indefinite suspension against the religious streamer. In response, DrWitnesser has decried Twitch’s policies and announced a switch to YouTube. https://twitter.com/DrWitnesser/status/1346970460668506118 As posted on January 6, DrWitnesser received an indefinite ban from Twitch for “engaging in hateful conduct against a person or group of people.” As the platform’s message indicates, the streamer’s behavior has resulted in numerous violations (or one extreme violation) that go against Twitch’s hopes for users to create a “friendly, positive experience.” Read more: 16-year-old TommyInnit hits 40K Twitch subs – While it’s unclear precisely what exactly prompted the ban, Witnesser’s reaction seems more focused on the platform’s overarching behavior than any individual violation. In response to his suspension, he laid out a general critique of the gaming giant: “They are a bias, hypocritical organization that shoves their agenda down everyone’s throats. I’m glad to be gone…taking some time off to decide my next move.” Evidenced by a subsequent tweet, Witnesser didn’t need too much time off to decide his next move, as he quickly announced a move to YouTube. https://twitter.com/DrWitnesser/status/1347262915510984706 Given the uncertainties surrounding DrWitnesser’s ban from Twitch, it remains to be seen how his content will fare on YouTube. While neither platform has any rules specifically prohibiting talk of religion, harassment and abuse policies likely frown upon threatening children with eternal damnation. Read more: Twitch community requests transgender tag – At the moment, Twitch hasn’t responded to the esports missionary’s anger, but we’ll be sure to stay in the loop in case more information arises.

Twitch hot tub streamer hits out at QTCinderella for claiming she encourages sexism Twitch/xoaerielTwitch’s xoAeriel has clapped back after fellow streaming sensation QTCinderella blamed hot tub streamers for encouraging sexism on the platform. While Twitch is the go-to destination for video game streaming content, IRL and Just Chatting broadcasts have become a breakout hit on the Amazon-owned site, with some of its best clips emerging from the category. Whether it’s saving tourists lost in Tokyo or setting a backyard ablaze by mistake, streamers in these categories have become stars. However, the category has also produced some more controversial streams. As Dexerto previously reported, QTCinderella blasted hot tub streamers for the amount of sexism on the site. “I’m all about getting that bread. I am. I’m like, ‘Yes queen, do the hot tub stream, but please don’t do it on Twitch,’” she said. “Then I have people coming from your chat where they see your hot t*ts covered in bubbles to my chat asking to see mine. But we don’t do that here!” Now, one of the originators of hot tub streams, xoAeriel, is going on the offensive. In a new YouTube video, she explained why she does hot tub streams and if they really do encourage sexist comments. “While I agree with her to some extent, IE men oversexualizing the women on the platform and just overall being sexist, I don’t agree that we the females are to blame for this,” she argued. She then took issue with QTCinderella not wanting hot tub streams to be on Twitch at all. According to xoAeriel, she abides by all of the site’s terms of service. Even though she believes some creators have content that has “gone too far,” she doesn’t break any of the rules, herself. “I started the hot tub stream meta. I was the first to do it. I knew what I was signing up for. I knew I was going to be a target for hate. But not from other female streamers,” she remarked. According to the streamer, she had “disgusting and violent threats” said to her while doing a hot tub stream, but they also happen when she’s just playing video games or cooking. “I would argue to blame specific streamers for this missed the point entirely,” she continued, adding that societal sexism is to blame and it will exist with or without hot tub streams. xoAeriel then mentioned how advertisements, movies and TV shows showcase sexual depictions of women. “Who is to say what is acceptable when and where? And who gets to participate and capitalize on this? God forbid it’s the women!” she exclaimed. “I have a shorter window to make money than the average man,” she added, before bringing up gender wage gap statistics. “It’s incumbent of me to take advantage of this while I can. Will I take advantage of the rare situations where I can leverage my power as a woman? You bet your ass I will.” She concluded her video by suggesting that anyone who doesn’t want to hear nasty things about them, shouldn’t be a content creator. Read More: Twitch bans GeorgeNotFound permanently again – “And QTCinderella, if you’re really about the empowerment of women getting ‘bread’, then you won’t contribute to the continued gatekeeping of the community on Twitch,” she finished. So far, QTCinderella has yet to respond to the video, but given the criticisms, chances are she won’t take them lying down.

Twitch indefinitely bans channel running reruns of Reckful’s stream Twitch: ReckfulTwitch has indefinitely banned a Twitch channel that was playing reruns of past Reckful streams as a way to memorialize the streamer. On July 2, 2020, Twitch streamer Byron ‘Reckful’ Bernstein died after taking his own life. Friends, fans, and companies like Blizzard quickly took to their platforms to pay tribute to the Twitch veteran in the days after. A Twitch channel was created to broadcast past streams as a way to memorialize the creator but was hit with an indefinite ban. Reckful rerun channel hit with indefinite Twitch ban On the morning of March 8, 2023, fans began to notice the ReckfulRerun Twitch channel had been hit with a ban. Instead of loading the channel, those attempting to access it were met with the purple app’s usual message: “This channel is currently unavailable due to a violation of Twitch’s Community Guidelines or Terms of Service.” After joining ReckfulRerun’s Discord server, we found several of its creators talking about the reason behind the sudden ban. One message revealed that the ban was for “Distribution of Malware or Harmful Websites,” leaving them to believe that the ban was caused by having their Discord server link listed in the description for the channel. “Thought I’d give you an update, we have now sent in an appeal explaining our situation. So the only thing we can do now is to wait. Thanks for your patience,” one of the creators said. We’ll have to wait to see if Twitch approves the creator’s appeal for unban but as it stands now, the ReckfulReruns channel is down for the count.

Twitch hire controversial psychic as TwitchCon Ambassador and people aren’t happy Antphrodite, Instagram / TwitchAs the summer months sprawl on, TwitchCon 2019 approaches, taking place in San Diego, California – but the event is already being met with some controversy, after the livestreaming platform chose a unique face to represent its brand. While TwitchCon has seen a slew of popular ambassadors over the years, one face is sticking out, in particular – with some angry fans even calling the streamer a “con artist.” Popular broadcaster and “sassy” Tarot card-reading psychic Anthony ‘antphrodite’ has been in the business for years, taking on multiple clients and even creating celebrity readings on his YouTube channel. However, not everyone is pleased with antphrodite’s presence on Twitch, after he was chosen by the company to represent them as a TwitchCon ambassador, as announced in a Tweet on July 6. “You may have heard of our third TwitchCon Ambassador antphrodite—Twitch’s very own sassy psychic,” the Tweet reads. “With his mix of memes and the paranormal, every stream is a witty, weird adventure.” You may have heard of our third TwitchCon Ambassador @antphrodite—Twitch’s very own sassy psychic. With his mix of memes and the paranormal, every stream is a witty, weird adventure. Learn more about Antphrodite and how to meet him at TwitchCon San Diego: https://t.co/NTm7teyNQQ pic.twitter.com/Jif24cRiG0 — TwitchCon (@TwitchCon) July 5, 2019 Although some commenters were excited with Twitch’s decision to use antphrodite as a TwitchCon ambassador, others were not as thrilled about the sassy psychic’s status with the convention, as told by a few angry Tweets on the subject. “Yikes, not hating on this dude’s personality,” one commenter wrote. “However, idk about the whole psychic thing being pushed any further then a gag… seams harmful.” Yikes, not hating on this dude’s personality. However, idk about the whole psychic thing being pushed any further then a gag… seams harmful. — Ginto (@_Ginty_) July 6, 2019 “Hey quick question: Will I, too, get promoted as an ambassador if I start scamming people on twitch?” another said of the matter. “For only $99.99, I’ll tell you which of your body parts you need to cut off to find true happiness!” Hey quick question: Will i too get promoted as an ambassador if i start scamming people on twitch @twitchcon ? For only 99.99 i’ll tell you which of your bodyparts you need to cut off to find true happiness! — Sena (@Disena_Sol) July 6, 2019 This wouldn’t be the first time antphrodite has been met with controversy, by far: the streamer likewise came under fire in early June, after appearing to advise a client to leave her husband during a broadcast. Antphrodite’s comments on the matter were met with vitriol across the net, with some commenters claiming that it might be “best for the man that they get a divorce because, I don’t think he would want to be with someone that goes on Twitch to see what she should do in her relationship.” Neither antphrodite nor Twitch have spoken out on the backlash as of the publication of this article.

Twitch hires ex-YouTube exec Laura Lee as content chief amid sub split controversy TwitchYouTube’s former head of top creators, Laura Lee, has joined Twitch, where she will now be the chief content officer, as the livestreaming platform faces a host of challenges, not least the disapproval of recent sub split and ad revenue announcements. Twitch, now facing stiff competition from YouTube itself for the attention of livestream viewers, particularly in gaming, has faced internal challenges due to the ad incentive program and the dismissal of requests for a 70/30 sub split. Despite this, it remains the top destination for livestreamed gaming content, particularly in North America and Europe. Laura Lee, formerly of YouTube until 2015, as well as NBC and Patreon, has joined Twitch to lead the content strategy around creators, including streaming partnerships. In October, Twitch President Dan Clancy announced a change to sub revenue splits, focused on the very biggest streamers. Streamers who previously enjoyed a 70/30 sub split would now only earn that on the first $100,000 of earnings, with anything above that reverting to the 50/50 split. And, all other streamers would remain on the standard 50/50 split, despite widespread requests for 70/30 – which is the split offered on YouTube. “The Twitch community is unparalleled in its creativity and talent, and Twitch streamers have set the bar for live entertainment and building deep bonds with their communities,” Lee said in a statement. “I couldn’t be more excited to join the team to partner with Twitch’s incredible streamers and the entire content organization to set content strategy and create new opportunities for streamers to thrive.” Twitch President Dan Clancy said, “We’re thrilled to welcome Laura to our team to define our content strategy and believe that her expertise across digital and premium content will bring fresh perspective to enable us to usher in the next chapter for our global community.” What exactly this “next chapter” entails for the platform remains to be seen. Currently, there is constant murmurings of YouTube being a better destination for both established and aspiring streamers. Lee will no doubt be aiming to help shift that narrative.

Twitch has a new superstar streamer but you’ve probably never heard of him Twitch: xCryIt’s not often that a Twitch streamer will suddenly blow up out of nowhere these days, but there is a new rising star the platform, as Spanish streamer xCry has gained over a million new followers and multiplied his viewership tenfold – in a month. For English-speaking Twitch fans, Eduard ‘xCry’ Martinconi is probably not someone you’re familiar with. A Spanish streamer, although is currently living in Mexico, has actually been streaming on Twitch since as early as 2016. It wasn’t until 2020 when he cracked the 1,000 viewer mark, and he’s hovered around a few thousand viewers ever since – that was, until October 2023. Rather suddenly, xCry’s following and viewership has exploded, making him by far the fastest-growing channel on the platform, perhaps on his way to cracking the top 20 most-followed list. xCry blowing up on Twitch As of November 17, xCry now boasts over 2.7 million followers on Twitch, 1.1 million of which followed in the past 30 days. At first, you might assume these kinds of numbers are only possible through a followbot, but it certainly doesn’t appear so. His viewership has similarly boomed to over 67,000 average, and his subscriber count is almost 40,000 (according to TwitchTracker), which are all signals that these are real fans following, watching and subscribing. He has thanked his fans for making him the top streamer of the month, writing, “streamer of the month and we are in the top most viewed streams on Twitch making halloween pumpkins.” Who is xCry? More impressive still, xCry has managed this while predominantly streaming in the Just Chatting section, a notoriously difficult place to grow a stream, but also where much of the most viral content is on Twitch. Sometimes streamers can enjoy accelerated growth if they already boast a large YouTube following, and he does also have over 2 million YouTube subscribers. It’s likely this growth has also been accelerated due to his presence on TikTok. Many of his videos go viral on the short-form video app, and this will send new fans over to his stream. This latest video has over 25 million views. Although, he hasn’t posted on TikTok since late October, as his focus has clearly shifted towards growing his Twitch stream. Spanish news site Sensacine also explains, “there has also been a lot of talk about xCry in Mexico due to his friendship with a famous influencer Yeri Mua” – as some fans want them to be a couple. If his current trajectory continues, he could be at 4 million followers before 2023 is over. The 20th most-followed streamer is currently NICKMERCS, at 6.7 million followers. xCry is also a big fan of Rubius, Twitch’s 4th most-followed streamer, saying that he “inspired” him and helped him a lot. xCry is currently third for average viewership on Twitch, behind Nix and Kai Cenat, in the past 30 days.

Twitch hate raids return in massive wave of attacks on LGBTQIA+ streamers Unsplash/TwitchTwitch hate raids have returned, this time with a wave of attacks focusing on the platform’s LGBTQIA+ streamers. In August 2021, Twitch was under fire from its creators as they demanded a stronger response to the ongoing hate raid harassment. It quickly evolved into the #TwitchDoBetter movement, which led to #ADayOffTwitch less than a month later. Twitch released phone verification in September 2021, their first feature meant to combat bot accounts that were being used in the hate raids. However, they have returned to the platform with a focus on LGBTQIA+ creators — but this time, the streamers have already found the source. Here’s everything we know, as well as a few steps to help combat it. Twitch hate raids on LGBTQIA+ streamers On March 10, Twitch streamers began taking to Twitter to talk about the hate raid going around creators using the LGBTQIA+ tag. According to ‘EarthtoBre’ they spammed hateful messages in another creator’s chat, tried to spam similar messages in their Discord, and streamed the entire event on another platform called CozyTV. Popular Twitch streamer Blizzb3ar was affected by the harassment as well, receiving the hate raid during a sponsored stream. TWITCH STREAMERS: @thejustryan was hate raided by someone on a different platform called https://t.co/5NcW1hLOe6 They spammed hateful homophobic messages, tried to spam in the discord, and streamed Ryan’s stream to his viewers while making fun of him. This is disgusting. — EarthToBre (@EarthToBreLive) March 10, 2022 Today was shitty, for many reasons. But I think being hate raided during a sponsored stream was the final nail in the coffin. Sorry for ending stream early, but I am gonna put my mental first and log off. I know yall understand. Seeya tomorrow > — blizz (but with rizz) (@blizzb3ar) March 11, 2022 Twitter user ‘xProvexx’ is one of the many people who helped reveal that the source of the harassment is from a streamer by the name of UX on the alternative streaming platform: CozyTV. They said: “There is an alt-right website called CozyTV streaming hate raids that they’re conducting on Twitch. Have an action plan in case they try to raid – currently targeting Women and LGTBQ+ creators.” In their second tweet, Prove supplied a list of users that creators can ban on their channel to help prevent receiving harassment. https://twitter.com/provexx/status/1502343415962292224?s=20&t=vbOnx_dwjQq8fLZDbkfWlQ On March 11, 2022, CEO of CozyTV, Nick Fuentes, made a statement regarding the focused harassment on his stream. While laughing at those affected, he said that the panic from the Twitch creators is “delicious” to him. Warning: The following clip may be distressing to some. Viewer discretion is advised. How to deter hate raids on Twitch During the hate raids last August, the creator of Sery_Bot helped provide affected content creators with added protection from the harassment. Shortly after receiving hundreds of tags regarding the new wave of hate raids, he made a comment on Twitter. He said: Yes I’m very aware of what happened today. Yes, my bot may help. It’s a deterrent, but these are not bot accounts. My bot isn’t perfect but any protection is good.” I’ve had a lot of mentions and DMs today and I have not been able to respond to them all. Yes I’m very aware of what happened today. Yes my bot may help. It’s a deterrent, but these are not bot accounts. My bot isn’t perfect but any protection is good. — Sery (@SeryCodes) March 11, 2022 We also have a list of things available to creators that may help deter the current wave of attacks — with some coming straight from Twitch: Phone & Email verification – Setting how old an account has to be in order to chat – Emote only mode – Having a good mod team ready to remove harassment – That’s all we know at the time of writing regarding the current wave of harassment on LGBTQIA+ streamers. If any more information comes out, it’ll be available on our Twitch hub.

Twitch Garnered Over 1 Million Viewers for KSI vs Logan Paul Fight – Avoiding YouTube Paywall August 25 saw one of the largest live-streamed events in history, as YouTuber’s KSI and Logan Paul faced off in the Manchester Arena. KSI and Logan Paul’s internet beef ended in a real-life fistfight, with the two going head to head in the boxing ring alongside a few other social media personalities. The fight was advertised as exclusive to YouTube’s platform, costing viewers £7.50 (or $10.00 USD) to watch via the KSIvsLogan YouTube channel. As of August 26, the channel has over one million subscribers. While the official livestream now has 5.4 million views, with over 800,000 tuning in during the stream itself, that wasn’t the only place the fight could be found. Plenty of streamers were likewise broadcasting the match through Twitch in an attempt to avoid YouTube’s pay-per-view policy. However, unlike YouTube, Twitch didn’t remove the bootleg streams nor ban their streamers for this widespread offense, at least not immediately. Twitch quickly became the place to go for those looking to avoid the YouTube paywall. According to Rod Breslau, Twitch garnered over 1.2 million concurrent viewers during the time of the event – on par with The International, which peaked at around 687,000 views during the game’s Grand Finals for the english stream. Streamers weren’t even attempting to cover up their actions either, blatantly streaming the fight for all to see – unlike the streamer who pretended to play a game while an actual UFC match played in the background. That isn’t the only issue the platform saw, either. Twitch’s staff was privy to the streams, with some of its top staff members tuning in to watch the action for themselves. Even the director of Twitch Studios, DJwheat, was seen in one of the broadcasts. With the vast number of views the fight accrued on Twitch’s platform, as well as their staff being aware of the occurrence, it seems as though Twitch had no intention to rectify the issue. When legality of the problem was brought up on Twitter, many esports personalities claimed that a DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) would be in order – but that the platform was fully within their rights to keep the broadcasts up until the act has been issued. The KSI vs Logan Paul fight brings up a timely issue of copyright infringement. While ultimately illegal, the bootleg broadcasts brought in over one million views – and views mean money. Those interested in the issue will have to hang on for a finite conclusion – if there is one.

Twitch founder Justin reveals if he regrets selling the streaming platform Flickr/Josh Hallett/TwitchTwitch co-founder Justin Kan has revealed whether or not he regrets selling the extremely popular streaming platform to Amazon. The 37-year-old took to TikTok on February 7 to answer an interesting question posed to him: If he ever regrets selling Twitch, given how much it’s worth today. Kan’s ties to the site stem all the way back to 2007, when the platform was originally called Justin.tv before it morphed into Twitch. According to Kan, when they sold the site in 2014 for $970 million, he “thought that was an insane amount.” “But now, reportedly, Twitch is worth fifteen to twenty billion,” he added. “Proving that things can always be bigger than you think.” Twitch has become one of the most popular streaming platforms on the internet, with as many as 15 million daily active users just one year ago. Chances are those numbers have grown since then. Nonetheless, Justin doesn’t seem to mind. “A couple things to consider: One, it’s not clear that without the capital infusion from Amazon, Twitch would be anywhere near as successful as it is today,” he said, which is a very good point. Amazon is one of the biggest companies in the world, and with all their resources, Twitch gets a major boost. “And two, having the win from selling Twitch helped me realize that having more, more, more and more money in the bank is not necessarily going to make me any happier,” Kan added with a grin on his face. This part is also interesting in that it’s a good lesson for anyone with a business, or anyone just looking to make money in life. There are some things that money can’t buy, and happiness may not be one of them. “So no, I don’t regret selling, he concluded. “Everything is as it’s supposed to be.” For anyone who was ever curious about Kan selling the platform, his answer should be more than enough to suffice that he has absolutely no regrets at all.

As Twitch implements gambling ban, Slots streamers find new home on DLive DLive / Pixabay: Aidan HoweTwitch’s gambling ban is now in place, and Slots streamers have been forced to find a new home. Enter DLive, which is opening up their doors to all of the platform’s gambling stars and promoting the practice widely on social media. Slots streams were everywhere on Twitch earlier in 2022. It rose up to become one of the platform’s most dominant categories, and it led to an outcry from some of the platform’s stars worried about gambling promotion and its dangers on the site. Twitch has made attempts to mitigate harm in the past by stopping direct links and affiliate codes on streams. However they were forced to pull the plug after a scandal surrounding Sliker guilting viewers and fellow streamers to send him more than $250,000 to fuel his addiction. Twitch’s gambling ban, which went live on October 18, has had an immediate effect on Slots streams. Viewership has fallen from peaks of around 80,000 on October 17 to no higher than 25,000 in the days since the ban was implemented. It has been on a significant downwards trend since Twitch announced policy changes were on its way though, leaving Slots streamers time to find a new home. DLive is now that sanctuary. DLive brands itself as a “value sharing live streaming platform that empowers creators and viewers through a revolutionary rewards system.” This includes using “blockchain technology” and cryptocurrency which viewers can earn within DLive to support creators. DLive also promotes a 75/25 revenue share split, which has become a contentious point in the streaming community since Twitch’s defiant stand on their 50/50 subscriber revenue split. Over the last month, since the first whispers of Twitch’s gambling ban, DLive has increasingly promoted gambling streamers on their front page as well as on social media. Their stance has been clear with their #YourStreamYourRules branding in the face of increasing regulation on not just Twitch, but YouTube and Facebook as well. “As of October 18, Twitch will be making a policy update to prohibit slots, roulette, or dice games that are not licensed in the US or other jurisdictions,” they tweeted on October 13. “We would like to announce DLive welcomes all streamers who create this type of content.” At the time of publishing, Slots is by far the most popular category, with thousands of viewers compared to just hundreds in any other category. While big names like Tyler ‘Trainwreck’ Niknam or Felix ‘xQc’ Lengyel aren’t swapping platforms to just stream Slots, a vast amount of gambling streamers are. ‘AussieSlots’, who boasted 32,000 followers on Twitch before being banned for breaking the platform’s Terms of Service after the gambling policy change, is now one of DLive’s top streamers. ‘XzosT’, with his 50,000 Twitch followers, moved in the aftermath of the ban too. Some aren’t completely diverting from Twitch. ‘Syztmz’ has used his account with 46,000 followers to direct viewers to DLive, going live on Twitch with his new stream link. This is a similar tactic being used by ‘Xposed’ and his 532,000 followers — except he is keeping audio on without any visuals on Twitch. Whether Slots streamers can sustain full-time content creation on DLive remains to be seen. The platform is much smaller than Twitch — the biggest streamers get a couple thousand peak viewers at most, which is lower than what top Slots stars got on their previous home. DLive will give them a platform safe from scrutiny, but gambling on Twitch isn’t exactly dead yet. Slots has fallen out of the top 10 most-watched sections of the site, but there’s still hundreds of channels live at any one time. As some stick it out past the ban with bonuses and codes promoted in chat, it remains to be seen if Twitch takes further action on the practice.

Twitch finally shuts down down illegal cockfighting channels after protests online Twitch/UnsplashTwitch has banned a number of channels hosting cockfighting streams on the platform after the broadcasts were mass-reported by concerned users. For the unaware, cockfighting is literally exactly what you imagine: two roosters pitted against each other in a bloodsport, sometimes to the death but often just enough to do a lot of physical trauma. It’s a practice that dates back millennia and in many countries has been illegal for a long time. That said, people will always find their way around the rules, and these cockfighting rings in the Philippines had even started broadcasting on Twitch for viewers to watch. Naturally, this is a very controversial topic and became even more so when Reddit user Hot_Kangaroo_2567 shared a post with links to certain cockfighting broadcasts. In the post, he urged people to head to the channels he hunted down and mass report them. Providing an insight into what was going on, Hot_Kangaroo said there were “Cockfighting streams from the Philippines that had been happening in Twitch’s unlisted section for multiple months with up to 12+ hour streams and up to 500+ viewers.” Throughout the night, they were updating the Reddit post with new channels they had found, and crossing them off their list when the stream was shut down. At the time of writing and as of the latest update, at least 30 of these streams had been banned or shut down, despite efforts to keep them going. There may be more, but it appears many were being suspended as soon as they went live, with Twitch clearly looking to crack down on them. While Twitch has come under fire for who and how they ban certain channels in the past, it’s fair to say that they’re getting it right this time around.

Twitch fined $57,000 by Russia over “fake information” TwitchA Russian court has fined Twitch $57,000 after the Amazon-owned company refused to remove “fake information” related to the war in Ukraine. On January 31, a judge in Moscow’s Tagansky district imposed a fine on Twitch after it failed to pull content off the platform. Interfax reports that the allegedly “fake” info was in regard to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine such as its general mobilization and civilian casualties. Additionally, the court factored in Twitch’s decision to not remove an interview with ex-lawyer Mark Feigin, who Russia has designated as a foreign agent, and former advisor to the Ukrainian Presidential Office Alexei Arestovich. “Find Twitch Interactive Inc. guilty of an administrative offense and impose a fine of 4 million rubles,” the judge told the court. 4 million rubles translates to $56,669.28 USD. This isn’t the first time that Twitch has been taken to court over its decisions. Back in 2021, the streaming site was ordered to pay $20,000 in damages after it permanently banned James ‘PhantomL0rd’ Varga. In 2022, Dr Disrespect also took Twitch to court after he was mysteriously banned. The two-time and Twitch would end up settling their legal dispute. The reason for the ban and the settlement remains unknown to this day. Dexerto has reached out to Twitch for comment.

Twitch finally gives streamers 70/30 sub split with new Partner Plus, but there’s a catch TwitchTwitch has finally revealed a way for streamers to get a 70/30 sub-revenue split with their new Partner Plus program, but there’s a catch. Back in September 2022, Twitch said that it would not be able to offer its streamers the sought-after 70/30 sub-revenue split due to the “high cost” of running the site. Streamers revolted, with some moving over to Kick or YouTube to take advantage of the increased split on subscriptions – set at as much as 95% on Kick. Twitch has revealed the new Partner Plus program to give streamers a 70/30 sub-revenue split, but it’s not exactly quite that simple. How to get 70/30 sub split on Twitch Announced in a blog post on June 15, Twitch’s new Partner Plus program is set to launch on October 1, 2023. Those who qualify for the program will receive the sought-after 70/30 revenue split. However, there is a catch to the program with a major caveat being that it’s only going to be paid out until you reach $100k in revenue. Twitch explains: “Partners must maintain a sub count of at least 350 recurring paid subscriptions for three consecutive months. “Once that happens, Partners will be automatically enrolled for the next 12 months, even if you dip below the subscription threshold during the 12-month period.” With its launch in October, Twitch will evaluate your account over the three months prior (July, August, and September) and enroll existing Partner accounts into the Partner Plus program. Once you qualify for the Partner Plus program, Twitch automatically enrolls you for 12 months. While they will not remove you within that timeframe if your sub count drops below 350, Partners must qualify during the last three months of being a part of the program. Twitch’s support page has more information regarding the program to inform users before its launch. In the meantime, head over to our entertainment section for more news and other viral stories.

Twitch finally responding to troll streamers who broadcast graphic and copyright material UnsplashStreaming platform Twitch have filed legal action against a group of streamers who infiltrated the site with copyrighted and graphic content, which they then broadcasted on a number of channels. Back in May, Twitch came under heavy criticism for allowing footage of March’s Christchurch terror attack to be livestreamed using Valve’s card game Artifact as the category. Over the course of the weekend, starting on Friday, May 24, streamers also used the Artifact category to stream copyrighted material such as movies and TV shows, and broadcast porn, both of which are against the Amazon-owned site’s Community Guidelines. The Artifact category was overrun back in May. Now, it appears that Twitch have finally decided to take action against those who flaunted the rules in the category, starting legal proceedings against streamers who were deemed to have been involved in the situation. According to Bloomberg, Twitch Interactive Inc. entered a complaint to the U.S. District Court in California, asking that those involved are prohibited from using the site in future, and that they pay damages and reparations to the company themselves. In the complaint, those involved are not named, instead referred to as “John and Jane Does 1-100”, as the company continues to try and attempt to learn the identities of those involved. Twitch have filed a suit against the streamers who broadcasted the content. Twitch states that it works “to remove offensive posts and ban the accounts of the users who post them,” but found that bots quickly started restreaming the banned content, and also worked to drive users of the platform to the content. The issue became so severe that the company were temporarily forced to stop new users from broadcasting on the site as they worked to resolve the problem. The case was officially filed with the U.S. District Court on Thursday, June 14, and there are currently scheduled hearings confirmed. We’ll be sure to update this post as more information becomes available.

One stream too far: Twitch finally takes stance on ASMR meta, and it’s for the best Twitch: Amouranth / Twitch: IndiefoxxTwitch is taking a stance against the rise of the “ASMR meta” on the platform by banning two of its biggest creators, Amouranth and Indiefoxx. However, it could be a sign of not just the future meta — much like the hot tub streams before it — but the future of the site as a whole. Twitch made it known on June 18 that, at least for the next few days, ASMR streams are under the microscope. They did so by banning two of the platform’s biggest streamers: Amouranth and Indiefoxx. Combined they have over four million followers, with tens of thousands tuning into the streams of them licking their microphone while wearing leggings. It led to a boom in popularity in the ASMR category, which exploded from around 14,000 average viewers to over 20,000 and climbing in less than a week. It’s now in the top 30 streamed categories in Twitch, and likely would have continued rising if not for the bans. Among all the memes and the bewilderment, it’s easy to forget the ‘legitimate’ ASMR streamers — the ones reading stories or roleplaying, not just licking a microphone — got pushed down in their own category because of the surge of “meta streamers” intruding, looking to make a quick buck with sub challenges involving farting into their own mics. That hurts not only the individual creators, but the platform itself. When the narrative is dominated with scandalous headlines, it’s a PR nightmare. Twitch showed with these bans they are willing to take back ground, but they need to draw the line in the sand. A much-needed crack down on an out-of-control category Someone needs to say the quiet part out loud: These streams are problematic for Twitch. The content has always toed the “sexually suggestive” line, which is something the Amazon-owned platform has tried to block, and now just ignores. That’s not to say streamers like Amouranth and Indiefoxx don’t have a place on the platform. However the constant chasing of that next big trend led to this implosion. It was a step too far. The ASMR category, and the platform was spiralling out of control. Twitch needed to take back the narrative, and they might have done it with the bans. But it’s not enough. Was the scorn of other Twitch streamers enough to end the ASMR meta? Regardless of what pundits think, Twitch’s biggest streamers took issue with the new meta. Mizkif, Summit1g, Asmongold were all in disbelief — some would add rightfully so — about the content these streamers were pushing on the platform. By not taking a solid enough stance on the hot tub meta, Twitch left themselves vulnerable to a new one rising up. Asmongold said Twitch “wrote themselves into a corner” by saying “they won’t publish ‘perceived attractiveness’ of streamers who make obviously sexual content.” Smaller broadcasters who got banned over menial things would isolate the ASMR streams as something Twitch should be focusing more on. It happened with hot tub streams too, and it set an ugly precedent for mods to look the other way when it comes to the ‘untouchables’. Was the content sexually suggestive? If you asked almost everyone, they’d say yes. Now Twitch is agreeing with that sentiment for the time being. Amouranth and Indiefoxx, if they’re allowed to, will probably jump right back into the streams once their suspensions finish. It’s up to Twitch to lay down the law between now and then and bring an end to the “meta”. What are Twitch’s intentions? We still don’t know. Much like how they slowed down hot tub streams by pushing streamers into a new category outside of Just Chatting, the new ASMR trend could be going the same way. A new category could be made, and Twitch will just be hands-off again. What needs to happen, though, is Twitch needs to give some clarity. To the streamers, who deserve to know exactly why they were banned, and what they can do to avoid it in the future. However, they need to give it to the community too. There needs to be a clear line in the sand of what’s acceptable. Twitch was right in saying “being found to be sexy by others is not against our rules,” but content that is sexual in nature is. The fact there isn’t a clear distinction is concerning. Asmongold put it best: “Until Twitch is willing to call a spade a spade, they’ll just come back to a new meta instead.” Looks like all the “”ASMR”” streamers are getting banned Cool but until Twitch is willing to call a spade a spade, they’ll just come back to a new meta instead Curious to see what happens now, my expectations are very low — Zack (@Asmongold) June 19, 2021 Amouranth and Indiefoxx haven’t taken the bans too harshly. However, whether Twitch will accept their presence in the future remains in doubt. After all, it could be one more trend before three strikes, and you’re out. Dexerto has contacted Twitch for comment.

Twitch finally begins rolling out new ad-free Channel Switcher Twitch/Unsplash: thomasdebraekeleerTwitch has finally begun rolling out its new ad-free browsing layout to more users, giving them the ability to select a stream without sitting through ads on each channel. Back in June 2022, Twitch began rolling out a new layout for their ‘browse’ section on the popular site. Allowing viewers to switch through channels ad-free, it was met with controversy as many shared their distaste for the design. Almost a year later, the purple app has implemented various improvements and finally began rolling out the Channel Switcher to more users. Twitch finally rolls out new ad-free stream browser Twitch revealed the news in a tweet on May 22, alongside a video showing off the new features. “Last year, we experimented with a Channel Switcher to provide a convenient and ad-free way to browse and discover new streams,” they said. “We’ve worked on several community-suggested improvements and are rolling it out to a percentage of users.” In the replies, they listed a few of the Channel Switchers’ new improvements and features. The new options include two different layouts, the ability to disable video preview, as well as the ability to preview and look through clips in the category you’re looking at. Users can even directly join streams from clip previews if that creator is live. Twitch didn’t specify how many creators will receive the new feature in the coming days, presumably leaving it a bit open-ended as they receive more feedback. Fans of the platform quickly shared their thoughts on the new feature, with many mentioning that they’re excited to see the Channel Switcher roll out to the entire website. For more Twitch news and other viral stories, head over to check out our coverage.

Twitch’s fastest-growing streamers are all Spanish-speaking as platform diversifies Twitch: AuronPlay/ElSpreenRecent data about Twitch’s content creators reveal the fastest-growing streamers on the platform are all Spanish-speaking channels. All of the top five, based off viewership, aren’t from an English-speaking background, showcasing the rise of Twitch globally. Twitch is often seen as a website dominated by English-speaking talents — no matter whether they be European, American, or otherwise. However, the tides are changing, and more diverse backgrounds are finding their feet on the platform. According to data from Sullygnome, the top five fastest-growing Twitch accounts in August so far have all been streamers that speak Spanish. It’s important to note that while all these channels belong to Spanish language content creators, they are from a number of different Spanish-speaking countries. Sitting in the fifth spot is Spanish streamer and comedian AuronPlay who has seen their average viewers numbers increase by over 55% in the past two weeks. Mexican streamer ElMariana sits just above AuronPlay and has seen a slight increase of 12% to their average viewer count. The average viewer count for Colombian-born gamer Juansguarnizo has actually decreased in the past month by 10 percent, however, Juansguarnizo still maintains the number 3 spot. Coming in as the second fast-growing streamer is Argentine Carreraaa, who also has a strong social media presence on top of their Twitch stream. Fellow Argentine ElSpreen rounds off the top 5 in the number 1 spot. ElSpreen’s peak viewer numbers increased by a staggering 151 percent, with the average viewer count also increased by an impressive 61 percent. As well as this, seven of the top 10 are also Spanish-language Twitch streamers. While always maintaining a loyal and strong fanbase, Spanish-language streaming channels have surged in popularity lately. In July 2022, Spanish Twitch star Rubius surpassed his previous peak viewership numbers when more than 250,000 concurrent viewers tuned in for the premiere of the Minecraft Karmaland series. Ibai also currently holds Twitch’s viewership record globally after more than 2.5 million peak viewers tuned in for his boxing event in June. Twitch viewership data also suggests AuronPlay and Rubius, two popular Spanish-speaking streamers, may even overtake platform juggernaut Ninja in regards to their total follower count on the platform.

Twitch fans pay tribute to cosplayer Randomoutburst_ after sudden passing Twitter: Randomoutburst_Tributes to cosplayer and Twitch streamer Randomoutburst_ have swept social media, as fans celebrate the life of the content creator following her passing. Twitch streamer Jaia Randomoutburst_ had amassed a passionate following across Twitter, Twitch, and Instagram. With a love for cosplaying as iconic comic book and pop culture characters, the content creator often interacted with fans through hilarious hijinks on Grand Theft Auto Online, Dead By Daylight, and Roblox. Sadly, the streamer has passed away and friends and fans alike have taken to social media to show their love and recall fond memories of her in this difficult time. Tributes to Jaia Randomoutburst_ pour in on social media Close friends and collaborators such as @CarmenKingy shared their remembrance of Jaia: “The kindest, sweetest, beautiful, and most caring woman.” “Such a positive light that made so many people smile. Grateful that I got to know you,” added Carmen. Another fan of Jaia, @DAVY1523 said that “the Twitch community really lost a good soul…Will never forget all the great memories brought to Grizzley. RIP @randomoutburst_.” Photographer Kayleef Lennard, who had worked with Jaia, said that the streamer was one of his “favourite muses.” Lennard continued, saying that Jaia “always had a love for cosplay and being behind the camera in general. Always came with dope energy.” Jaia herself never hesitated to show her admiration for her followers, often thanking them for their support on viral platforms such as TikTok. On TikTok, the streamer spoke out to her fans: “What I know that is I have this core community, group of people, that support me no matter what unconditionally.” “And that’s all I really need,” added the streamer.

Twitch fans shocked as Boogie2988 unbanned days after breaking nudity rules YouTube: Boogie2988YouTuber and streamer Boogie2988 has had his Twitch channel reinstated only days after brazenly breaking sexual content guidelines by appearing entirely undressed on stream, coming as a surprise to many. Boogie did not appear nude on stream out of the blue, but rather as part of the ongoing ‘implied nudity’ meta, that has been as controversial as it is popular. Streamers are attempting to circumvent the guidelines by using censor bars of private areas, while actually wearing clothing underneath. However, in Boogie’s case, he did not wear anything underneath and was subsequently banned on December 23. Only days later his account was unbanned early on the morning of Boxing Day, meaning the total length of the suspension clocked in at just three days. When news of the unban reached X/Twitter, there was some bemusement. “Holy sh*t after that they really unbanned him?! Good lord Twitch,” said streamer YouSpoonyBard. “I’ll be honest I’m actually surprised they unbanned him,” another user commented. Another streamer, who is indefinitely banned, called out Twitch for the unban, while their own account remains unavailable: “We saw this dude’s ball s**k! Full frontal nudity! And I’m still banned for my SFW animal vrchat avatar? This is beyond not fair! Can I please be unbanned.” Boogie hasn’t responded to the unban himself yet, but did celebrate his imminent engagement over Christmas.

Twitch extends partnership with NBA to cover USA FIBA World Cup USA Basketball / TwitchTwitch is going to be the exclusive digital streaming partner for USA Basketball during the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup in a deal that extends until 2020. The deal signals a new step in the growing partnership between the sports world and the streaming giant, as Twitch now set themselves up as the prime destination on the internet to catch the USA’s rising stars take on the world. While USA Basketball is a nonprofit organization that governs all things basketball in the United States, the National Basketball Association manages marketing partnerships as well as media for the club. The non-profit announced on August 6 that they are going to hand over streaming responsibilities to Twitch for all USA Basketball games from now until the deal expires at the end of 2020. Read more: Tfue challenges PewDiePie to “meme off” – The agreement will encompass two major international events that will feature USA Basketball teams: the 2019 FIBA World Cup and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Furthermore, a deal between the NBA and Twitch has already been producing great content for fans of the platform to start familiarizing themselves with the sport if they aren’t already. The Jr. NBA Global Championship is already underway on Twitch, while the NBA 2k League has wrapped up its 2019 season slate of games. As more sports are being offered on purely digital services, it’s a great time for USA Basketball and the overall NBA to continue their explorations in the digital space. With the upcoming regular seasons for various major sporting leagues, Twitch audiences will already be able to watch the National Football League’s Thursday Night Football during the 2019-2020 campaign. Even though it seems like there’s a massive wave of live sports coming to digital services like Twitch, basketball fans shouldn’t get their hopes up of seeing main NBA teams regularly compete on stream since media rights for the league lie with Walt Disney Co’s ESPN and ABC and WarnerMedia’s TNT until 2025, per Reuters. But with the new deal between Twitch and USA Basketball inked and ready to go, audiences will be able to watch the world’s best compete in the upcoming FIBA World Cup.

Twitch extension ranks richest streamers next to their name after earnings leak Ottomated_The Twitch breach on October 6 shook the entire community to its core, with the biggest leak coming in the form of the top streamers’ total earnings. Now, one savvy user has created an extension that lets you see exactly where your favorite streamer ranked in the earnings list. With over 120GB of data becoming publicly available, including the source code and hints at a Steam competitor in development, the Twitch leak was just about one of the biggest things to happen in the streaming community ever. The one thing that became heavily talked about and spawned memes across the internet, though, was the earnings leak, with streamers’ earnings from September 2019-2021 becoming a huge topic of discussion among both creators and their viewers. That said, it was hard to keep track of where exactly all the top streamers were ranked among their peers — until now. Barely a day later, Ottomated came up with a Chrome extension that lets you see where they ranked immediately. As you can see in the screenshot below, the extension simply adds a number next to every broadcaster’s name, so you can easily see who was placed where in the earnings rankings list. So now, if you’re having trouble finding who to watch, you might want to give some of the lower-ranked earners some love. If you’re worried about the logistics of the extension (as some appear to be) due to the ever-changing nature of the figures that leaked, then Ottomated has also answered how exactly he plans to deal with that. “It’s a meme that took me 15 minutes to code,” he said.”I don’t give a s**t.” it’s a meme that took me 15 minutes to code. I don’t give a shit — Ottomated (@Ottomated_) October 8, 2021 Of course, give it a few months and the information will be slightly outdated, but the memes may just live on forever.

Twitch “experimenting” with new way to customize Followed Channels lists TwitchTwitch announced they’ll be trying out a new way for users to customize their Followed Channels list that sorts by viewing behavior instead of simply raw view count. Until very recently, Twitch usually defaulted to sorting channels, including the channels on your following list, by the number of viewers a stream had. The more viewers watching, the higher up on the list they are. Simple as that. This, obviously, didn’t help smaller streamers trying to grow their audience, since even if they are followed, they won’t be at the top of viewers lists who also follow multiple big personalities. Now, Twitch has announced they’re going to be running a new experiment on some users’ Followed Channel lists that “will sort the channels based on viewing behavior instead of view count, making it easier to find channels and content relevant to you, and support smaller communities.” There’s no word how many people they’ll be testing it on, or for how long. So if you see something strange with your Followed Channels in the next few weeks, you might just be Twitch’s latest guinea pig. It also doesn’t mention how the whole “based on viewing behavior” thing will work either, but it will probably take what channels you’ve been watching recently into account, and listing them accordingly, not just by how many people are watching right now. We would love to hear your feedback and thoughts on this experiment, so please head over to our UserVoice to let us know: 📣 https://t.co/84yBGdQyAa — Twitch Support (@TwitchSupport) December 8, 2020 Twitch has made several changes in 2020, including their less-than-well-received enforcement of perceived DMCA violations by banning streamers and deleting VODs. But at least this new change to Following lists seems like it could be positive for viewers and for smaller streamers alike if it works. 2021 could be the biggest year on record for Twitch, and one of the most challenging yet if trends continue and the site just keeps getting bigger and bigger. As the new year approaches, we wouldn’t expect this to be the last “experiment” they decide to roll out and test.

Twitch explains why they won’t ban Sweet Anita despite tics breaking TOS Twitch: sweet_anitaTwitch has explained why they haven’t banned streaming star Sweet Anita from their site. While Anita’s forced “racial and phobic slurs” officially go against the platform’s terms and conditions, Twitch want to create a “welcoming environment” for disabled users. Gaming sensation Sweet Anita is known for her transparency. From advocating against sexual harassment to getting candid about her mental health, fans have continuously praised her for her openness. The streamer, who also suffers with Tourette’s Syndrome, has spoken previously about viewers sexualizing her condition. In an interview with HuffPost, Anita revealed that men have often fetishized her “tics and outbursts.” On August 12, opened up about her early days on Twitch. Speaking to BBC News, she expressed her initial worries about being banned from the platform. Anita spoke truthfully about her tics Anita suffers from a rare (but highly popularized) symptom of Tourette’s, known as Coprolalia. This involves verbal “outbursts,” often including explicit language. Anita’s tics have previously gone down the route of swear words and body parts. Read More: Watch Bella Poarch’s “Inferno” music video – “You can’t use… slurs (on Twitch),” the content creator said. “My tics force me to.” As well as opening up about how the disorder has impacted her career, she described the effects Tourette’s has on her mind and body. “It feels like you’re being physically forced to say these things,” she said. Anita’s unapologetic ability to be herself has earned her legions of fans. Her follower count on Twitch currently stands at 1.7 million. Twitch explains why they haven’t banned Anita In a statement to BBC News, Twitch said it wanted to create a “welcoming environment” for disabled content creators. They also stated that this kind of environment “sets a level of decency and respect for our community.” In response to Anita specifically, they emphasized their “delight” in “supporting streamers like Anita as they grow their careers.” Check out Anita’s Twitch channel, now streaming six days a week!

Twitch experiencing widespread connection issues during CWL Anaheim and OWL TwitchPopular streaming service Twitch is currently down for streamers, leaving everybody wondering when they’ll be able to use the platform again. The outage couldn’t come during a worse time, as Overwatch League, Call of Duty, and Super Smash Bros. Melee competitive broadcasts are all down, leaving fans in outrage. Popular streamers are experiencing issues too, with some being booted mid-broadcast. Twitch has issued an official statement on Twitter, saying, “We are currently investigating an issue with streamers connecting to servers. Stay tuned for updates!” :mag_right: We are currently investigating an issue with streamers connecting to servers. Stay tuned for updates! — Twitch Support (@TwitchSupport) June 15, 2019 Who has it affected? Major competitive streams have been affected, as well as some of the most popular streamers on the platform, which can mean huge losses. MLG was streaming the Call of Duty World League in Anaheim before the outage happened, with founding employee Adam Apicella tweeting, “Some issues site wide on Twitch. Working with them to address.” and then “To be clear, this affected more than just our event. Many other events/programs that are live right now are also being affected.” To be clear, this affected more than just our event. Many other events/programs that are live right now are also being affected. — Adam Apicella (@MrAdamAp) June 15, 2019 Overwatch League’s stream has also gone down, with many fans upset and angry over the outage, spawning many angry tweets and reaction gifs. “What’s happened with the server? There is too many problems tonight,” one person tweeted. When the OverWatch league twitch stream goes down pic.twitter.com/z4yC61KbqV — Dumb Beck Energy (@BeckyBBubbles) June 15, 2019 @Twitch @overwatchleague What’s happened with the server? There is too many problems tonight :face_with_rolling_eyes:— la Sainte Banane (@sainte_banane) June 15, 2019 When will it be back online? There’s no current news on when Twitch will start functioning as normal again, but we’ll keep you updated with any further developments. This article is currently being updated with more information.

Twitch evangelist banned for telling kid he’ll “go to hell” Dr. Witnesser[jwplayer Y7PB7YwV]A Twitch streamer has been banned for seven days from the website for telling a teammate in Fortnite they would “go to hell” if they didn’t accept Jesus into their life. Twitch streamer Dr. Witnesser, who works to “bring the gospel to gamers” according to his profile, has been banned for seven days from the platform for apparently telling a non-christian child he was going to hell if he didn’t accept Jesus into his life. https://twitter.com/DrWitnesser/status/1282740391477944321?s=20 Dr. Witnessser tweeted on July 13 accusing Twitch of being part of the “#cancelchristianity culture” for banning him for “talking about what the Bible says on stream.” Dexerto couldn’t find any rule in the Twitch ToS or Community Guidelines that specifically forbids proselytizing on the platform, but it may have been the way Dr. Witnesser went about his preaching that nabbed him the seven-day suspension – and a fair amount of backlash on social media, including from Fortnite pro and streamer Brett ‘Dakotaz’ Hoffman. https://twitter.com/dakotaz/status/1282752710052319232?s=20 Apparently, the incident that got Dr. Witnesser banned happened during a Fortnite game when he was put on the same team with a young Muslim player, who eventually got into discussing their beliefs with him. Read More: Pregnant YouTuber Nicole Thea dies age 24 – “If you’re denying what scripture says,” Witnesser explained, “you’re denying the hundreds of prophecies that were fulfilled through Jesus.” “In the Muslim culture, we don’t really talk about that,” his teammate replied, to which Witnesser answered, “You don’t really talk about it because you don’t believe it.” https://twitter.com/dakotaz/status/1282760767293579267?s=20 “Forget the fact that it’s America dude,” he said when his teammate again tried to point out the differences between their and Witnesser’s beliefs. “It’s Christianity in general, it doesn’t matter if I’m in America. Christianity is all over the world. So look, if you were to die in your sins today, you would be sentenced to hell.” As we mentioned earlier, there doesn’t seem to be anything in the Twitch ToS or Community guidelines that forbids what Dr. Witnesser was doing on his stream, but it may have been the way he went about it that rubbed the streaming platform the wrong way. In any case, Dr. Witnesser doesn’t seem discouraged by the temporary ban, and will apparently be taking his work to D.Live in the meantime – but whether he’ll end up returning to Twitch once his ban is over remains to be seen.

Twitch exec hits back at YouTube for copied streaming features after Hype Chat addition Unsplash/YouTube/TwitchTwitch’s chief monetization officer Mike Minton poked fun at YouTube ‘copying’ some key live stream features after Twitch introduced their new Hype Chat feature. Over the last few years, there have been a few competitors to Twitch’s spot as the top livestreaming website out there. The likes of Mixer and Facebook Gaming have faltered but both YouTube and Kick are still making a good go of things. Both websites have their similarities to Twitch – Kick especially, as it has a pretty much spot-on replica of Twitch’s layout, directory, and other features – but YouTube still feels like standard YouTube. YouTube does, of course, also have features that are inspired by Twitch, especially as they’ve signed ex-Twitch creators over the last few years that have urged to go that way. But, it sometimes works the other way too. Twitch exec responds to ex-YouTube exec over Hype Chat addition So, when Twitch unveiled their new Hype Chat feature – which allows users to donate and get added attention on their chat messages – it instantly drew comparisons with YouTube’s Super Chat feature. In fact, former head of Gaming at YouTube Ryan ‘Fwiz’ Wyatt made a point of it. “I’ve seen this product somewhere before…,” Fwiz said, with a laughing emoji attached. However, Twitch’s chief monetization officer Mike Minton quickly fired back. “Funny, I had the same reaction to gift subs, clips, raids, sub-only chat, polls on YT Live…,” he tweeted in response. Fwiz noted the exchange was “all in good fun,” but there are still plenty of users who can’t help but dish out the copying accusation. Though, there are many annoyed that Twitch hasn’t followed YouTube in allowing streamers to take 100% of the money from Hype Chat. Instead, Twitch will give streamers 50% of what is donated, and it’s only increased frustration following the recent controversies in regard to branded content changes and the catch on allowing streamers to have 70/30 splits on sub revenue.

Twitch starts revealing which of its 400 laid-off employees will be let go TwitchTwitch employees say the company has started revealing who will be laid off following Amazon’s recent workforce reduction decision. In a memo on March 20, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced a new round of layoffs within the company. 9,000 employees will be let go, with the job cuts impacting the AWS, PXT, Advertising, and Twitch departments. Of those 9,000 layoffs, approximately 400 people will lose their roles in the Twitch division. According to Jassy, such a devastating decision came down to Amazon streamlining its “costs and headcount” because of uncertainties about the current and near-future economy. Unfortunately, Twitch has already started to bid farewell to some of its staff members. Twitch alerts staff to which employees will be laid off Twitter user CloudFuel, a Community Program Manager on the Twitch Rivals crew, says the recently announced layoffs have started taking effect. “Already lost 3 amazing members of the Twitch Rivals team,” the user wrote in a Twitter post. For now, there’s no word on how many other Twitch Rivals staff may lose their jobs. YouTuber Zach Bussey added more insight in a post of his own, noting that “Twitch employees impacted by layoffs will be informed over the next 24 hours.” Apparently, this information comes from an email sent to staff by Twitch’s recently appointed CEO Dan Clancy. The job cuts seem widespread within the company, too, affecting departments such as Content, Trust and Safety, and Marketing. According to a Twitter thread from reporter Nathan Grayson, Twitch’s AI and Customer Support teams were also hit by the layoffs. It seems newer employees and longtime workers have been on the receiving end of these changes. Sources who spoke with Grayson further noted that laid-off Twitch staffers will receive pay through early June, with healthcare lasting throughout that month. Severance will be based on tenure. Laid-off employees at Twitch mark the latest to be impacted by the tech industry’s workforce reduction. Over the last several months, Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft have cut thousands upon thousands of jobs.

Twitch releases epic Shroud tribute after his move to Mixer CSGO star became the second major streamer to join the platform after Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins. The Microsoft-owned Twitch rival is trying to cement themselves in the space by hoisting big names over, and the stats so far are looking positive. However, Twitch didn’t let one of their greatest streamers go without one last goodbye. After starting his full-time streaming career in 2017, he catapulted up the ranks to be one of the faces of the platform until he left. In an October 28 tweet, Twitch published a two-minute montage of Shroud’s streaming journey, from when he departed Cloud9 to take up streaming full-time, to when he left for Mixer. The video was simply captioned “GLHF, @shroud,” wishing the streamer the best of luck on his newest venture in broadcasting. The short clip highlights some of the FPS star’s greatest plays on the platform, including nice one-Deags, jumping AWP shots, and PUBG spraydowns. The tribute also highlighted Shroud’s meteoric rise, breaking through the 100,000 subscriber barrier in March 2019, and how he shared that with the wider Twitch community. Shroud often raided smaller streamers after his day was done, with his supporter base raining down subscribers and donations on whoever they landed on. The way Twitch have handled Shroud’s departure from the platform is markedly better than they did with Fortnite star Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins. The streaming service was embroiled in controversy after graphic content was shown on Ninja’s channel after he left Twitch for Mixer in August. They learned their lessons for Shroud though. Shroud subscribers were gifted a month’s free subscription to another Twitch streamer of their choosing, with the offer expiring in November. Read more: KingGothalion joins Mixer – Twitch also kept Shroud’s page untouched, with the streamer still hosting the likes of Tyler ‘Skadoodle’ Latham and Jordan ‘n0thing’ Gilbert. The touching tribute was just the icing on the cake for a monumental success story on the platform. Shroud seemed to appreciate it too, with the now-Mixer star retweeting the video shortly after it went live. With a bevy of other streamers rumored to be departing soon, who knows who else Twitch will be saying “GLHF” to on their journeys to unknown waters.

Twitch drops insider tips & tricks for streamers to grow and build communities Dexerto/TwitchWe spoke to Twitch’s Mary Kish about the ways that aspiring streamers can kickstart their careers, and how niche category streamers can still build a community, despite stiff competition. Mary Kish is Twitch’s Director of Community Marketing and has worked at the Amazon-owned streaming platform for over five years. While leading the broadcasting site’s creation and execution of marketing campaigns, she’s also a dedicated Twitch streamer herself. Being both a leader at Twitch and a creator herself, there may be nobody more equipped to help guide a new generation of aspiring Twitch streamers towards success. Here’s our discussion with Mary about how small streamers can grow, and how Twitch plans on helping them shine. Mary Kish on growing a Twitch channel Twitch has never been a more competitive platform for new streamers than it is now. The live streaming site is on pace to host over 10 million monthly active streamers in 2022, it’s most ever. Mary broke down what up-and-coming streamers can do to grow a channel and community on Twitch. “We actually have several different tools and resources that make it a lot easier for streamers to learn how to stream. My favorite is Creator Camp which is a one-stop shop that teaches you everything. I don’t just send people who are learning how to stream there, you can also send your parents or anyone who is learning how to ‘Twitch.’ “It actually goes through definitions like what emotes are, we (Twitch) have our entire own language. So sometimes you walk before you crawl, and you can peruse through there and learn some basic things on how to start. “My favorite tip is to do some research by watching some other people’s streams, see what you like and don’t like and what you gravitate towards. What are they doing, are they using a microphone? Are they playing their favorite game? From that you can determine what you would like to do. My second favorite tip is do something you will enjoy doing, not what you think is the most popular or will get you the most viewers. That tends to not result in a welcoming, joyous stream. “You shouldn’t stream just because you want something, it should be something that you enjoy doing. It should be a hobby that makes you happy.” How niche Twitch streamers can stand out Mary describes herself as a niche streamer, broadcasting old horror games multiple times a week on her page. She dropped some knowledge on what Twitch’s more niche streamers can do to set themselves apart. “It can be harder to get discovered when you’re in a niche environment. But what I think is important to remember is that you shouldn’t always be streaming strictly to grow, your goal shouldn’t be to stream to one million people. Your goal should be to stream to people who enjoy this as much as you do. “My group of core viewers are in love with old school, weird horror games as I am, and that makes my community really enjoyable because they are engaged and can’t wait to see what happens next.” She continued, “To give you tips and tricks to grow, it would be to double down on those types of places where you’re finding like-minded individuals. I cannot stress enough networking with other people who are playing similar types of games. When I find a creator on the platform that is similar to mine and we interact, their audiences will naturally gravitate towards mine.” What smaller streamers can learn from big streamers Kish stressed collaborating with other creators who make similar content as a great way to grow on Twitch. She also went more into detail about what smaller streamers can learn from the bigger streamers on the platform. “I tend to think of a lot of creators as fairly large because they are able to hold hundreds of people’s attention for hours. I tend to find that those types of people are very committed, interested, and passionate as the community as much as the content that they make. Not only are they extraordinarily passionate about the game, but they are passionate about the people who come into their stream every day. They say their names every day, and remember them. They remember what they’re going through in their personal life. Mary highlighted that setting boundaries is a great way to set the tone for a growing community, “This is the dedication, and I don’t mean dedication in terms of hours because that’s important. I’m talking about the dedication to the enjoyment of the community that you create and cultivating it, making it fine-tuned, and a place you actually want to spend your time at. “Setting boundaries and knowing when someone’s crossed the line and to address that and make your space safe for you is something I always see larger creators do. They have a distinct awareness of what is acceptable and what is not, and they set those boundaries early. You want to let people joining your community for the first time know what’s ok and not ok.” Mary’s advice on streaming can prove valuable for anybody looking into building a career on Twitch, and even though it may take time, the payoff of having a strong and safe community is worth it.

Twitch emotes explained: KEKW, Kappa, TriHard, Jebaited, more TwitchTrying to understand Twitch emotes and Twitch chat culture? Here, we’ll explain the meaning of some of Twitch’s most common and quirky emotes, to help you fit right in, and stop being a ‘normie’ or a ‘YouTube frog’. If you’re new to Twitch, the chat can actually be a somewhat daunting experience. Years of inside jokes, memes and references you might not have a clue about have taken on a form of their own. Think of this as your starters guide to some of Twitch’s best emotes, that truly make the platform what it is for chatters. Some of these emotes have deep roots in internet culture, such as KEKW, now one of the most popular. It’s also worth noting that many of these emotes are not actually even on Twitch natively. Many users have extensions such as FrankerFaceZ and Better Twitch TV (BTTV), which add in countless new custom emotes. So, you might be seeing the word KEKW in chat and have no idea what’s going on. KEKW KEKW is a FrankerFaceZ emote that is used on Twitch to represent laughter, when a funny moment occurs on stream. One of the trendiest emotes on Twitch in 2020, KEKW comes from the classic clip of El Risitas laughing on Spanish TV. What does KEKW mean on Twitch? You’ve probably seen countless meme versions of this video. KEKW is simply his face laughing, representing a hilarious moment on stream. If a streamer says or does something that has viewers in hysterics, chat will almost certainly light up wit KEKW spam. Although, there are a few competing emotes too, such as LULW. Read More: Top 20 most followed Twitch streamers – LULW Just like it’s counterpart KEKW, LULW is a zoomed-in version of the Twitch default emote, LUL. This emote is the face of the late video game YouTuber, critic and commentator John ‘TotalBiscuit’ Bain. What does LULW mean on Twitch? LUL was actually removed from Twitch, before being reinstated after Bain’s death from cancer in 2018. A cartoon version of the emote took its place. LULW is from the original version of the LUL emote. There is a debate about which emote is better: LULW or KEKW. So far, KEKW is winning the war as it has almost double the usage of LULW in 2020. Kappa Kappa is a default global Twitch emote, and for a long time was the most popular on the platform. It’s since been dethroned, but it’s potentially still the most iconic of all emotes. What does Kappa mean on Twitch? Kappa is actually the face of Josh DeSeno, an employee at Twitch back when it was called Justin.TV. His classic facial expression here is used to represent sarcasm. So, if someone says something questionable in chat, but follows it up with a Kappa, then you’ll know they were being tongue-in-cheek. There are also countless variants of Kappa, including KappaPride, which is used to represent support for the LGBT+ community. Read More: Highest peak viewers on Twitch all-time – PogChamp Perhaps just as iconic as Kappa, there is PogChamp. Up until 2021, PogChamp enjoyed a controversy-free reign on Twitch. But, the face behind the emote, Gootecks, was adjudged by Twitch to have made comments on social media worthy of the emote being removed. What does PogChamp mean? PogChamp is a global Twitch emote, used to express excitement, amazement or disbelief, usually when a streamer pulls off an impressive play, a big clutch, or a talented skill. PogChamp has countless variations, including Pog, PogU, POGGERS, WeirdChamp, and many more. Since its removal from Twitch, the platform has instead rotated different streamers pulling a PogChamp-like expression as a replacement. Jebaited Jebaited is a global Twitch emote, and is the face of Alex Jebailey. Jebailey is the founder and CEO of Community Effort Orlando events. What does Jebaited mean? The clue is in the name with this emote – it’s all about being baited. Jebaited is one of the most useful emotes on Twitch, especially when the streamer is playing a game and is literally ‘baited’ by an opponent. But chatters can be baited too, when they expect the streamer to do something interesting or impressive, only to fall short. TriHard TriHard is a global Twitch emote, but also happens to be one of the most controversial. It depicts streamer TriHex, pulling what he has described as a very awkward smile. The original picture was taken at an anime convention, and TriHex was happy about having his DragonBallZ image signed. What does TriHard mean? TriHard can represent joy, success after winning a hard game (e.g. trying hard), surprise, or a number of other reactions. But, TriHard has a contentious history. Even though TriHex himself likes the emote and is happy for it to be on Twitch, other streamers have actually banned it from their chats, including HasanAbi. This is because it has taken on a darker use – spammed in chat when a black person appears on stream. In fact, it’s the reason that xQc was suspended from the Overwatch League, after he was adjudged to have put the emote in chat when caster Malik Forte appeared on stream. The OWL said he had used the emote in a “racially disparaging” manner. TriHard is often paired with the number 7, as TriHard 7, with the 7 intended to look like a salute. cmonBruh cmonBruh is another global Twitch emote which is a classic, but similarly controversial one. It’s exact origin is unknown, but it has been on Twitch since 2016. What does cmonBruh mean? Although it can be used to express confusion, surprise or disapproval, cmonBruh is commonly used to question if something was potentially racist. So, if a streamer or another chatter says something that could be construed as racist, cmonBruh often fills up the chat. For this reason, cmonBruh is also controversial, with some arguing the emote is itself racist. Regardless, it remains a popular global emote, and has variants such as ‘hyperBruh’ – a red version used when something is even more obviously discriminatory. Such emotes have been banned in the chats of various streamers, including Hasan and xQc. BibleThump For a more wholesome emote, it’s all about BibleThump. Another global Twitch emote, BibleThump is used when something is sad, and you want to express being tearful in chat. What does BibleThump mean? BibleThump was made more popular thanks to the ‘i cry everytim’ meme, and the website ICryEveryTime, which people would send when something sad happened. The page is literally just lots of BibleThump emotes accompanied by sorrow orchestral music. It literally just means crying, but is often used in a more sarcastic sense, than to represent genuine sadness. haHAA haHAA is a BTTV emote used to express cringe, or when something tries to be funny but isn’t. You can use this when you want to mock something or someone being unfunny, despite their best efforts. What does haHAA mean? haHAA features a man grimacing, doing a fake laugh of sorts. The face behind the emote is Shy Ronnie, from The Lonely Island band, real name Andy Samberg. Introduced in 2016, it has fallen out of popularity somewhat, as alternatives like ‘WeirdChamp’ have taken its place. But, you’ll still see haHAA’s used regularly when there is cringe on display – which is pretty common on Twitch. Twitch emotes fall in and out of popularity and trendiness over time, but these emotes have remained ever-popular. There’s also whole sub-sections of memes, such as the various ‘Champ’ emotes, and the endless variations of Pepe the Frog. These basics should help you get started though, and you’ll be an emote connoisseur in no time.

Twitch doubles down on gambling ban to ‘protect viewers from scams’ TwitchTwitch is doubling down on its decision to ban gambling content by adding more sites to its prohibited list in a policy update. Gambling streams have been banned from Twitch for just under a year now, and it doesn’t seem like that policy will be changing anytime soon. Back in 2022, roulette and slots broadcasts were causing quite a bit of controversy on the Amazon-owned platform, leading to big names such as Pokimane demanding that they be banned. The platform followed through, prohibiting gambling sites that include dice or slots games that are not licensed in the US or provide “sufficient consumer protection.” On August 2, 2023, Twitch followed up with an update on how its policy had proven successful and added a couple more sites to its ban list. Twitch reveals effects of gambling ban in policy update In a thread on X, Twitch explained that it was adding Blaze and Gamdom to its prohibited list. Gamdom is an online crypto casino, while Blaze is a standard gambling website. “Our goal now, as it was last fall, is to protect our community, address predatory behavior, and make Twitch safer,” they said. Furthermore, the platform stated that gambling viewership has dropped a whopping 75% since the ban last year. It should be noted that sports betting or sites that focus on games like poker are still allowed. “This meant the change had an immediate impact, and that our community has been better protected from scams and related harms,” Twitch added. As Twitch continues onwards with its gambling policy, however, rival streaming platform Kick has stepped up to give streamers the option to gamble to their hearts’ content without repercussions. Kick itself emerged as a result of the gambling ban and the site has wasted no time in recruiting some of Twitch’s top talent, signing names like Felix ‘xQc’ Lengyel to very lucrative contracts.

Twitch drama explained: Complete timeline of xQc, gambling, Mizkif, Amouranth, Sliker & more September & October of 2022 has offered some of the most drama-filled months Twitch has ever seen. From Twitch gambling, to Mizkif and an alleged sexual assault cover-up, to Amouranth revealing an abusive relationship with her husband: Here is a complete timeline of the ongoing events. Over the past month, Twitch has been plunged into a seemingly endless pool of drama with each day adding to the platform inferno. One story branches into two or three different storylines, with the original bit of drama usually being overshadowed by two streamers feuding over Discord or Twitter. Saying it’s been a lot to keep up with it would be a gross understatement. Content creators like MoistCr1Tikal and Ludwig have had to make multiple 20-minute-long recap videos as, just when you think the drama is over, another entry in the saga rears its ugly head. In an attempt to help spectators keep up with all of the ongoings happening on and off Twitch during this soap opera, here is a condensed timeline of events starting with a prologue before the onslaught of Dramageddon. The Prologue – Shitcamp, xQc, and Erobb Before the real drama began, a few important events happened that would come back as larger issues in the future. These issues revolved around Shitcamp – an event hosted by streamer QTCinderella – and xQc’s lack of involvement thereof. xQc pulls out of Shitcamp – September 5 xQc announces not going to Shitcamp at the last minute because fellow streamer Sodapoppin won’t be there – Hasan call out xQc for bailing at the last minute, starting a feud between the two that would span throughout the duration of the drama – Erobb banned – September 9 Erobb mysteriously banned from TwitchMany viewers and streamers considered this a catalyst for the events to come – Erobb was banned for 30 days for making threats toward a viewer in his chat. – – Dramageddon Begins – Twitch is on fire for 10 straight days September 15 was the last day of “peace” before an endless flood of events would consume the platform. The drama before then was a mere trickle, but from September 16 and on, serious criminal allegations would be levied, bridges would be burnt, and streaming careers would be ended with the entirety of Twitch watching from the sidelines. xQc & Adept break up – September 16 xQc announces breakup with Adept, claiming he was forced to choose between his girlfriend or his family. – xQc & Adept quarrel – September 17 xQc and Adept clash on Twitch in very public breakup feud. Both streamers shouted at one another in front of 150k+ viewers, sparking backlash and endless clips. – Hasan explains how xQc could have avoided his breakup drama – Sliker accused of scamming – September 18 ItsSliker accused of scamming friends and fans for $300k+ to fuel gambling addiction, with countless streamers, friends, and fans revealing he had taken money from them under false pretenses. – Sliker admits to scams and offers tearful apology live on Twitch – Pokimane and Mizkif demand Twitch ban gambling in viral Tweets – Fallout from Sliker scams, Trainwreck makes bombshell allegation – September 19 Ludwig & xQc promise to pay back victims of Sliker’s gambling scam, while Trainwreck defends gambling on Twitch – ItsSliker claims gambling sites offered him sponsorships after his apology – Mizkif vs Trainwreck Mizkif hits out at Trainwreck for defending gambling – Mizkif and Trainwreck take shots at one another on TwitterMizkif says Trainwreck should be banned because of his alleged involvement in “crypto scams” – Train claims Mizkif covered up sexual assaults – with the help of Maya Higa and MitchJones – to save his friends from being canceled – – Asmongold call out Twitch for not banning ItsSliker – Adrianah Lee makes CrazySlick claims public Adrianah Lee goes live on Twitch with sexual assault allegation lobbied at CrazySlickThis is the alleged assault that Trainwreck accused Mizkif of covering up – – Maya Higa addresses allegations she was sent to downplay Lee’s sexual assaultShe claims she did not downplay Adrianah Lee’s allegations, but admitted she should not have gotten involved because of her status as a popular Twitch streamer – – CrazySlick goes missing, old Mizkif DMs leaked – September 20 IcePoseidon leaks DMs from Mizkif, who allegedly used racial and homophobic slurs – CrazySlick goes missing, is found hours laterDuring this time, Slick purportedly sent ‘goodbye messages’ to his close friends, and Asmongold claims that he hopes Crazy Slick “dies” – – ItsSliker loses Twitch Partner button and subs – xQc says he actually wants gambling to be banned on TwitchSays its because some streamers are “disingenuous” and don’t show the bad side of gambling – – Allegations arise that Trainwreck paid Twitch staff $80k on streamEx-staff member calls actions disgusting – Trainwreck says they are former Twitch staff and are no longer employed there – – xQc apologizes to Adept for their public argument – Ludwig & Hasan confront xQc over Shitcamp commentsxQc admits he used his breakup as an excuse not to go – Says he just didn’t want to go, overall – – Twitch bans gambling Twitch bans unregulated gambling sites, but not sports betting, fantasy betting or poker. – Mizkif put on leave from OTK, Twitch cuts sub splits – September 21 Twitch denies 70/30 split for subscriptions, with all streamers sticking to the 50/50 revenue split – DrDisrespect slams Twitch as a platform – Asmongold and Valkyrae blame ads for “killing Twitch” after 70/30 split denial – Mizkif put on leave and makes statement Mizkif put on leave by OTK, third party hired to investigate sexual assault cover-up – Mizkif releases statement on TwitterApologizes for use of slurs – Confirms CrazySlick has been evicted – Apologizes to “everyone involved” for his “bad judgment calls” – – Ludwig claims Mizkif can’t be canceled – CrazySlick caught using Mizkif’s account to hit on girls – MoistCr1TiKal weighs in, slamming Mizkif for his public apology – Trainwreck on gambling Trainwreck plans to continue gambling following Twitch ban – Trainwreck calls Twitch “corrupt” for banning gambling – Corinna vs Pokimane Corinna Kopf criticizes Twitch Gambling ban – Corrina Kopf calls out Pokimane for promoting gambling – Pokimane slams Corinna Kopf for promoting “illegal” crypto schemes – JustAMinx accused of blackmail xQc vs Pokimane – September 22 xQc claims Pokimane spoke out against gambling for clout – Pokimane renounces Twitch drama, says she doesn’t want to be involved anymore – The infamous ‘Call’ – September 23 MitchJones claims Mizkif sent him and Maya to downplay sexual assault – Emiru defends Mizkif on stream, says he would never try to cover up a sexual assault – Asmongold admits Twitch drama will make him miss WoW Classic Lich King – Private Discord call between Mizkif/Trainwreck/Asmongold/xQc/MitchJones/Barry leakedBarry alleges that Maya “heavily gaslit” Adrianah Lee into changing her TwitLonger – – More Pokimane criticism Trainwreck calls Pokimane “one of the most corrupt” streamers on Twitch – Hasan defends Pokimane after Trainwreck calls her “corrupt” – Twitch SVP leaves company amid creator Pay Split – JustAMinx responds – September 24 Emiru’s response sparks more drama – September 25 xQc claims OTK is weaponizing Emiru’s emotional statement – Mizkif fans “in shambles” in his offline chat, convinced he will never return – Maya issues final statement, announces indefinite break from online platforms – CodeMiko announces plans to migrate to YouTube following Twitch sub-split controversy – Emiru calls CodeMiko “fake as f**k” as she reacts to Mizkif drama – xQc’s final take on Gambling/Asmongold ‘gives up’ – September 26 xQc admits Twitch gambling streams were wrong, but won’t fake being sorry – Asmongold doesn’t know if he will ever stream on his main channel again – The Second Wave – Mizkif returns & Amouranth reveals abusive marriage September’s Twitch drama came to a screeching halt just in time for the week leading up to TwitchCon San Diego. Reminiscent of an episode of Riverdale, all of the animosity seemed to fade away as once cut-throat rivals spent a week acting as if they hadn’t spent the month prior dragging each other through the mud. But it was only a matter of time before more drama found its way onto the platforms. However, October has bred completely different kinds of issues for Twitch including disappointing payment schemes, streamers left with life-changing injuries, and beloved broadcasters revealing the heartbreaking truth kept behind closed doors. TwitchCon TwitchCon TwitchCon – October 9 Lenovo Foam Pit claims multiple victims Foam pit at TwitchCon was the biggest controversy of the whole event – Adriana Checkik breaks her back in two places – Amouranth’s stalker appears at TwitchCon – October 10 Mizkif returns to Twich Mizkif “very confident” in OTK investigation after sexual assault coverup allegations – Hasan calls out Mizkif for “undermining” accusations against him amid OTK investigation – xQc touched inappropriately at TwitchCon – October 11 xQc claims he was harassed by woman who touched him inappropriately at TwitchCon afterparty – Ludwig claims Twitch has “a lot to learn” in light of major TwitchCon 2022 issues – #BoycottTwitch trends following TwitchCon issues and site changes – Adriana Chechik reveals extent of her TwitchCon injuries – October 12 Adriana Chechik reveals injuries worse than expected after TwitchCon foam pit accident“Bones completely crushed & nerve damage to my bladder, hopefully, I’ll be able to pee again in the near future.” – – Twitch VP of Monetization explains 50/50 sub split Hacker attempts to steal $900k from Amouranth OnlyFans – October 13 Wolfabelle call out Mizkif after return Amouranth OnlyFans hacked again – October 14 #DreamIsAFreak trends on Twitter Adriana Chechik calls out haters blaming her for TwitchCon injury Adrianah Lee calls for Mizkif Twitch ban Ludwig call for Twitch to ban Slicker after paying back victims Adriana Chechik struggles to walk again – October 15 Amouranth reveals 7-year abusive marriage on stream – October 16 Amouranth reveals she’s married and is being abused by husband in concerning Twitch stream – Alinity claims police “can’t tell her if Amouranth is okay” following welfare check – Streamers call out Twitch’s new ad incentive program Amouranth’s team confirms her safety – October 17 Amouranth’s team gives update after police visit following husband abuse allegations – Valkyrae, Jessica Nigri, LilyPichu & more defend Amouranth amid relationship abuse claims – Amouranth returns to Twitch with massive update – October 18 Amouranth returns to Twitch after domestic abuse bombshell: “I’m free” – Asmongold calls out “pathetic” Amouranth viewers for demanding refunds – As of right now, the dramatic saga of events has seemingly taken a turn. Instead of new stories surfacing of hefty allegations, Twitch is seeing a series of streamers who face issues that require the support of the entire community to get through. With the investigation into Mizkif and the alleged sexual assault cover-up underway, Chechik continuing to battle through physical therapy, and Amouranth dealing with the alleged abuse of her husband, we’ll continue to update this article as the timeline continues.

Twitch’s DMCA crisis may get worse as labels ramp up “enforcement programs” Unsplash: Caspar Camille Rubin / TwitchThe DMCA crisis on Twitch is going to get worse before it gets better. The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) has announced the body is ramping up its takedown campaign on Twitch to “remove music which Amazon refuses to pay for”. Twitch streamers big and small are looking down the barrel of the platform’s worst DMCA takedown crisis yet. Record labels and the music industry are pushing the Amazon-owned company to stop content creators from using unlicensed music, or more takedowns will be filed across 2021. The NMPA — a music publisher industry body whose mission “is to protect, promote, and advance the interests of music’s creators” — said it was going to continue “removing music which Amazon refuses to pay for” in “a major ramp-up of its takedown campaign.” “Twitch should serve its users by fully licensing music which would allow the platform to flourish and copyright owners to be properly compensated,” president David Israelite said at the NMPA’s June 9 annual meeting. An “intensive enforcement program to ID and remove unlicensed songs from Twitch” is already underway. A Twitch spokesperson told Dexerto that the company complies with all DMCA requests, as required by US law. However, they are liaising with the music industry to find a solution for creators on their platform. “Our conversations with music rights holders, both with labels and publishers, are active and ongoing, and we continue to work with them to establish potential approaches that would be appropriate for the Twitch service and our entire community,” they said. This includes recent measures implemented by Twitch like mass clip and VOD deletion features and the Soundtrack tool that gives creators “rights-cleared music”. More tools, like the ability to file counterclaims from the Creator Dashboard — instead of via email — are coming later in 2021. Creators have pushed Twitch to go even further though, and try to emulate YouTube’s system. This includes wiping strikes after 90 days, rather than the very strict three-strikes policy currently in place. Twitch went from receiving less than 50 DMCA takedown requests a year to over 1,000 a week in a matter of months according to a November 2020 statement.

Twitch finally adds transgender, race diversity tags after community push TwitchTwitch has finally added diversity tags, including a transgender one, after users made it loud and clear the platform desperately needed more ways for streamers to identify themselves and for viewers to find them. UPDATE May 26, 2021: Just five days after initially announcing the addition of more inclusive tags, Twitch has officially rolled out a slew of LGBTQIA+ and race diversity stream tags, category tags, and automatic tags for its users. Streamers can check out the full list of available tags on Twitch’s blog post. 📢 The new tags are now available. Read the full list here, https://t.co/STA6TmLqdT https://t.co/X0Oq5BxTQs — Twitch Support (@TwitchSupport) May 26, 2021 Original story begins as follows: Twitch streamers and viewers have been rallying for a new tag on the platform specifically for its transgender broadcasters for a long time now, to the point where a group of protesters gathered outside the company’s headquarters to make their voices heard. It’s an issue that has been close to the hearts of many streamers in the trans community, who felt like they needed better representation on the platform. Fortunately, it seems like all the hard work has finally paid off. Twitch announced that 350+ new tags, including a transgender one, are coming very soon. We’ll have tags related to gender, sexual orientation, race, nationality, ability, mental health, and more. For the full details, check out the blog: https://t.co/dXLPrlayPX — Twitch (@Twitch) May 22, 2021 “Next week, streamers will be able to select from over 350 new tags related to gender, sexual orientation, race, nationality, ability, mental health, and more. The list of tags includes transgender, Black, disabled, veteran, and Vtuber, among many others. “We will also remove references to ‘ally’ from the LGBTQIA+ tag, and are instead creating a standalone ally tag. These additions won’t change how tagging works and are completely optional. They simply give creators more choices. “We’d like to thank our trans community for originally requesting the “transgender” tag, and for their passion and persistence in pursuit of that request. This has been one of the most popular requests we’ve heard, and the simple truth is that we should have done this sooner.” Twitch added an LGBTQIA+ tag back in 2018. However, they admitted it took them “too long to embrace that there should have been hundreds of ways for creators to share who they are and issues they care about.” After all, the Twitch community is incredibly diverse, and “the tags should reflect and celebrate that.” It took them a while to listen, but now they finally have, and it’s a massive win for everyone involved. They’ll go live in late May.

Twitch DMCA ban hammer swings down on Clix and SquishyMuffinz NRG Esports / DreamhackThe second wave of Twitch DMCA takedowns is in full force, and the ban hammer almost crashed down on unsuspecting partnered streamers Clix and SquishyMuffinz.[jwplayer s3Kl6oQO] The last couple of weeks have been difficult for Twitch streamers. They’ve been getting rocked with DMCA takedown notifications, forcing them to delete clips and VODs from their channel that contain copyrighted music. It has affected everyone, regardless of their popularity and prominence. JakeNBake, LIRIK, and Pokimane are notable examples. However, it’s also led to actual bans with little to no explanation. This even happened to Dragonforce’s Herman Li. The situation even sparked a reaction from Shroud, who believes streamers should have taken a “united front” on the issue. In his view, this would have helped overturn the rules, but now he thinks it’s too little too late. Still, the DMCA issue hasn’t faded away. The second wave of takedowns is out in full force, and it’s crashed down on two popular streamers: Cody “Clix” Conrod and Mariano “SquishyMuffinz” Arruda. Clix is a professional Fortnite player currently signed with NRG Esports. He also has around 2.1 million followers on Twitch and is an official partner of the platform. Still, that wasn’t enough to make him immune to a DMCA strike. “2nd dmca strike, one more and i’m banned forever, he said. “I did everything they told me to legit all my vods and clips” A similar thing happened to SquishyMuffinz, a professional Rocket League player with more than 600 thousand followers on Twitch. However, he copped a full ban right out of the gate. “Banned from twitch,” said SquishyMuffinz. “Is there anything I can do to fix this?” Banned from twitch, is there anything I can do to fix this? — R1 Squishy (@SquishyMuffinz) November 2, 2020 Fortunately, the ban was overturned. However, he’s been forced to delete every single VOD and Clip, which means he won’t be able to stream today. “Deleting all my VODS Clips ETC, not taking anymore chances in the future,” he said. “Thank you to the community for all the support. I’ll try to stream tomorrow, gonna deal with the VODS and clips for today.” Deleting all my VODS Clips ETC, not taking anymore chances in the future, thank you to the community for all the support I’ll try to stream tomorrow, gonna deal with the VODS and clips for today. https://t.co/LQnDTiBUgP — R1 Squishy (@SquishyMuffinz) November 2, 2020 Twitch has been ruthless in their DMCA crackdown. However, in the end, it seems like streamers would rather lose years worth of content than cop a ban. The consensus is that it’s not a fair ultimatum, but what else can they do? They don’t have a choice but to cave in and adhere to Twitch’s demands if they want to use their platform. Read more: xQc slams Twitch viewers “shaming” streamers – It’s possible things will change in the future, especially if streamers are able to ‘unionize’. But until that happens, the makeshift solution is to delete all their clips and carry on. Either way, it’s a strange time for streamers and their viewers.

Twitch denies requests for 70/30 sub split due to “high cost” of running site Twitch/Unsplash, @sharonmccutcheonTwitch, the most popular livestreaming site for gaming content, has responded to a request for higher revenue split for streamers, and will be capping the 70/30 split already given to some bigger streamers. As rivals like YouTube attempt to compete for Twitch’s livestreaming crown, the incentive of higher revenue splits has been an argument for broadcasters to switch platform. Twitch has now responded with changes planned. Twitch states that “for approximately 90% of streamers on standard agreements with premium subscription terms, this change will not affect them at their current revenue.” However, there are some large streamers who have been given a preferential 70/30 split, but on September 21, Twitch has announced that will be ending. Starting in June 2023, big streamers on this higher split will only receive it on the first $100,000 of sub revenue, with anything after this at the regular 50/50 split. Twitch explains why it won’t do 70/30 sub revenue split In a September 21 blog post, Twitch President Dan Clancy explained that despite over 22,000 signing a “UserVoice” petition for the 70/30 split, the site won’t be making the change. One explanation given includes the cost of running the Twitch service: “Delivering high definition, low latency, always available live video to nearly every corner of the world is expensive. Using the published rates from Amazon Web Services’ Interactive Video Service (IVS) — which is essentially Twitch video — live video costs for a 100 CCU streamer who streams 200 hours a month are more than $1000 per month. “We don’t typically talk about this because, frankly, you shouldn’t have to think about it. We’d rather you focus on doing what you do best. But to fully answer the question of ‘why not 70/30,’ ignoring the high cost of delivering the Twitch service would have meant giving you an incomplete answer.” Clancy also claims that new innovations like gifted subs, hype trains, and the ad incentive program, have led to a 27% increase in revenue per viewer hour – every year. “This means the same viewer hour now earns you three times more money than it did five years ago, on average. Our investments into your monetization options have already and continue to put more money into streamers’ pockets than 20% more subs revenue share would have.” Clancy also highlights that Prime Subs, which are free for Amazon Prime members, effectively increase the revenue share to 65%. “This number varies by streamer size and location,” Clancy says, “but subscription revenue share is not the full picture on revenue share for streamers.” The news is certain to disappoint many broadcasters who were hopeful for a higher revenue split from subscriptions. But, Twitch is clearly eager to push streamers towards other monetization paths, such as the ad incentives program. This announcement may become lost in the noise though, as on September 20, Twitch announced a ban to many forms of gambling content on the site, which has already caused mass debate among streamers and viewers.

Twitch & Discord respond after Buffalo supermarket mass shooting Twitch/DiscordTwitch and Discord have issued statements in response to the recent mass shooting in Buffalo, New York that was broadcasted on Twitch, with details of the shooting posted on Discord in the days leading up to it. On Saturday, May 14, 2022, tragedy struck in a Buffalo, New York supermarket when an 18-year-old gunman killed at least 10 people. The mass shooting was broadcasted live on Twitch, and it was quickly revealed that the gunman had a Discord server where he shared plans for the attack in the days leading up to it. In a report from Eurogamer, Twitch and Discord have issued statements regarding the incident. Twitch & Discord respond after Buffalo mass shooting According to Eurogamer, Twitch said that it identified and removed the live stream within two minutes after they found out about the incident. The site also detailed a comment the company made to The New York Times. “Twitch has a zero-tolerance policy against violence of any kind and works swiftly to respond to all incidents,” Twitch said. “The user has been indefinitely suspended from our service, and we are taking all appropriate action, including monitoring for any accounts rebroadcasting this content.” Twitch and Discord have issued statements following the Buffalo mass shooting https://t.co/Aal5FTWBIS — Eurogamer (@eurogamer) May 16, 2022 As the incident was planned out via a private Discord server, the company also provided a statement. Discord revealed that it is investigating posts made by the gunman, which allegedly include detailed plans for the shooting before it took place. They added: “We extend our deepest sympathies to the victims and their families, and we will do everything we can to assist law enforcement in the investigation.” This isn’t the first time a mass shooting has been broadcasted on the Amazon-owned platform. On October 9, 2019, a gunman killed two people inside a German synagogue and multi-streamed it to Twitch and Facebook. We’ll be sure to update you if any more information is released regarding this incident.

Twitch defends 50/50 sub split amid growing competition from Kick and YouTube TwitchTwitch’s chief product officer Tom Verrilli and chief monetization officer Mike Minton have addressed the controversial 50/50 sub split on the platform, and how they plan to make Twitch the best place for streamers despite rivals offering much higher splits. It’s been a turbulent start to the year in the livestreaming space, with new platform Kick gaining some momentum, but also mired in controversy over its connection to gambling site Stake and the enforcement of community guidelines. Part of Kick’s appeal for streamers though is the 95/5 sub split, with Twitch’s 50/50 split paling in comparison. However, Twitch remains steadfast in this approach, and two officer’s from the Amazon-owned platform have given clarity on why. Twitch doubles down on 50/50 split Speaking to The Verge, Minton acknowledged the negative feedback from streamers about the 50/50 split. “There certainly was loud conversations within the community in terms of their feedback and reception. “We talked a lot about how we’re in this together, and part of that is innovation,” Minton continued. “We are committed to continuing to improve our monetization products and building new monetization products, and at the end of the day, we are committed to increasing the amount of money a streamer earns.” Rather than simply opting for a higher sub split, such as YouTube’s 70/30 split, Twitch is apparently focused on making Twitch overall a more lucrative place to stream through product innovations and sponsorships for streamers. One example pointed to by Minton was the ad incentive program. This provides streamers with a pre-agreed payment provided they stream a certain number of hours and run a specific amount of ads. “The acceptance and engagement on the ad incentive program far exceeded our expectations. So streamers are clearly seeing the value in running ads now.” Chief product officer, Tom Virelli, said the focus is on helping streamers to grow their communities. “We want to make it easier for creators to take their amazing Twitch content and distribute it,” Virelli said. “But we also need to take more responsibility for delivering viewers straight to streamers while they are on Twitch.” Virelli references a currently in-development feature called “Guest Star.” It’s not exactly clear what this feature is (The Verge describes it as “an integrated tool that allows streamers to easily feature other creators or their audience in a livestream”), but Virelli said he thinks it is the “next evolution” of Twitch chat. The flat-out refusal to increase subscription splits has already incentivized some streamers to move on to pastures new, but if Twitch can in fact make the platform the most lucrative place to stream through these other methods, it may yet retain its livestreaming crown. In related Twitch news, the company is set to lay off 400 staff this week.

Twitch denies Jidion’s permanent ban appeal after Pokimane “hate raid” After Twitch permanently banned controversial streamer Jidion, he filed an appeal to have the ban reverted to its original 14-day length. However, Twitch has denied his appeal due to the level of abuse Jidion exhibited. On January 12th, popular Twitch streamer Pokimane was forced to end her stream early due to a “hate raid” from fellow streamer Jidion. Two days after the raid, Jidion received a 14-day suspension from Twitch for targeted harassment, threats, and hateful conduct. Various internet personalities come to Pokimane’s aid and stood up against “sexist” tendencies when it comes to female streamers. However, other streamers like Tyler “Ninja” Blevins were called out for their actions during the situation. During this time, Twitch upgraded Jidion’s temporary suspension to a permanent ban. While Jidion has apologized for his actions and admits he deserved the ban, he felt the change in his sentence was unfair. This led to the streamer filing an appeal. Twitch denies Jidion’s ban appeal Despite Jidion’s efforts to find a way back on Twitch, he was ultimately unsuccessful. Jidion posted a screenshot of an email from Twitch on Twitter on January 19. The email showed Twitch denying Jidion’s ban appeal. According to Twitch, Jidion’s actions were too severe to warrant a ban appeal. “Your account is indefinitely suspended due to repeated or severe Terms of Service or Community Guidelines violations,” the notice read. “We do not unsuspend accounts for this level of abuse.” Jidion captioned the tweet, “It’s all my fault boys. I promise I’ll do better”. https://twitter.com/Jidion6/status/1483950713390706691 A few of Jidion’s fans replied to the tweet with “L + Pokimane” or images of them continuing to harass Pokimane during her stream. However, Jidion replied to these tweets telling his fans to leave Pokimane alone and saying that he was the one who needed to take an “L.” For now, it seems as if Jidion’s arc in this situation has come to an end. However, Pokimane is still seeking answers, starting with Ninja’s lack of clarification for his actions.

Twitch dad goes viral for crying after daughter raids small streamer Twitch/SweeetTails/TwitterPopular Twitch streamer ‘SweeetTails’ is going viral after posting her dad’s incredible reaction to her raiding a smaller content creator on social media. There might be no better feeling as a small streamer than being raided by someone with a significant following. Having hundreds or even thousands of viewers flock to your channel can help you grow significantly and turn a simple hobby into a viable career. In February, SweeetTails introduced her viewers to her father on stream – and when it came time for the broadcast to end, he seemed eager to see who she’d raid. Lo and behold, after his daughter initiated a raid on a smaller streamer, his reaction was so priceless that SweeetTails decided she had to upload it. After stream on Sunday, we raided into a smaller streamer and this was my Dad’s reaction. There is so much more to streaming than just creating content. It’s about these moments and what brings us together. Dad, I am who I am today because of you. “Good job everybody” 🥲🙌🏼 pic.twitter.com/0p0siCHPCI — TAILS (@SweeetTails) February 22, 2022 SweeetTails’ dad goes viral during Twitch raid In a video posted to Twitter, Tails showed how her father literally began crying tears of joy knowing his daughter was using her platform for good. “You’re making her happy. Oh, I’m getting teary-eyed,” he said, removing his glasses to wipe his tears. “She’s making me cry. Good job, everybody!” “Dad, I love you,” Tails proudly said, pointing out how the streamer, ‘AnnerBear,’ only had 16 viewers before the raid. “That makes it fun. Sharing the joy,” her dad cried. “It’s so nice to see someone smiling and happy.” Even Twitch responded to the clip, commenting: “That is what it’s all about. Share that joy and never stop. While you’re at it, share some tissues, too. We cried so much watching this that we ran out.” Seeing Tails’ dad’s reaction, AnnerBear applauded the father-daughter duo and thanked them for the raid. “It was an honor not only to meet you and your community but your dad. This is such a core memory for me and to see his reaction made it all the better. He is amazing and created an amazing person!” she replied. The video has been spreading on both Twitter and TikTok, where it’s been viewed nearly 500,000 times. Given all the pain and concerning news in the world these days, it’s refreshing to see clips like this spark so much joy for streamers, fathers, and their viewers.

Twitch criticized over unattended drinks at TwitchCon party Graphics: Twitch / UnsplashTwitch streamers are already raising concerns about the handling of TwitchCon parties, with the servings of alcoholic beverages being questioned right off the bat. The annual North America TwitchCon event is being held in San Diego, California, between September 27 and 29, giving streamers a chance to come together and connect with their fans. Just like previous years, there will be an opportunity for meet and greet sessions, but as many viewers will know by now, many of their favorite broadcasters will be streaming IRL (in real life) while attending the parties held during the weekend. On September 26, prior to the starting day of the event, Twitch streamer AnneMunition posted a photograph of how drinks were being served at a partners party – with fans and fellow streamers worrying about the lack of safety. The picture, as seen below, shows a number of beers already poured and resting on tables, ready for people to pick them up. However, the streamer couldn’t help but notice that this could present some risks. “Pretty disappointed to be honest. I thought Twitch was starting to understand that some of us want the option of a quieter place for the partner party instead of a huge, loud party,” she tweeted. “This is a huge safety concern, how is this the way you’re serving drinks?” Pretty disappointed tbh, I thought Twitch was starting to understand that some of us want the option of a quieter place for the partner party instead of a huge, loud party. Also THIS is a huge safety concern, how is this the way you’re serving drinks….. pic.twitter.com/e0OfhRbLhT — Anne Munition @ TwitchCon (@AnneMunition) September 27, 2019 There are arguments to be made for this to be either an oversight or an overreaction, although there appears to be a general consensus in that any risks involving drinks being left unattended must be taken seriously at these parties. Drinks being spiked with drugs is something people will very cautious about in these circumstances, and that’s been reflected by the reaction from AnneMunition and others. It isn’t just the streamers that are worried about the handling of alcohol, either, as viewers and their fans have also been discussing the matter on Reddit. One user posted: “Leaving open drink on a table is bad.. And complaining you want a quieter place to party during a once a year event is also bad,” which prompted a response from the streamer herself. After admitting that it could be her age showing, she said: “The bigger issue is the drinks, obviously. It’s a huge health and safety concern and I’ve heard many stories from friends and other partners about being drugged at past partner parties. So I hope everyone was okay tonight.” Many comments in the same thread agreed that this is an issue that must be addressed at TwitchCon parties moving forward, in order to prevent events – as described by AnneMunition – from happening.

Twitch cuts Mendo’s ban short after xQc Fall Guys controversy Team Liquid/TwitchFormer Overwatch professional Lucas ‘Mendo’ Håkansson has had his suspension reduced by Twitch after being banned for ‘stream sniping’ amid the controversy surrounding Felix ‘xQc’ Lengyel. [jwplayer KD1gIhoh] Back on November 15, a Twitch Rival Fall Guys event was plunged into controversy when xQc was accused of stream sniping to get an advantage against a number of other streamers. The former Overwatch star was handed a seven-day ban from Twitch for his actions, and it wasn’t long before other streamers – Mendo, Tfue, Nightblue3, and GrandPooBear – were also struck down with similar punishments. Tfue was the only one to escape a suspension from streaming, but the other three, just like xQc, were given a seven-day ban from Twitch, and a six-month ban from Twitch Rivals event, but Mendo has managed to have his shortened. Late in the day on November 21, the Team Liquid content creator noted that he’d lodged an appeal against his week-long suspension and had managed to be successful in getting it overturned. “After an appeal has been sent in I am no longer banned for “Stream Sniping”, but rather for ‘Targeted Harassment’, not sure what this really means but the appeal reduced my suspension,” he tweeted. “My initial 7-day suspension has been reduced to 3 days instead. See you when I’m unbanned :D” The streamer did add that he was still suspended from Twitch Rivals events for the next six months, just like his fellow streamers, but he’d be free to return to Twitch on November 22 at around 1 pm ET/10 am PT. After an appeal has been sent in I am no longer banned for “”Stream Sniping”

Twitch criticized for adding paid boost feature despite backlash from streamers TwitchTwitch has come under fire from a number of creators for pressing on with adding the paid boost feature despite the streaming community rallying against it. Despite the rise of both YouTube and Facebook Gaming, Twitch is still the internet’s number one streaming platform, with millions of users logging in each day to watch their favorite streamers. As Twitch remains ahead of the pack, there have been plenty of new features added to try and widen the gap between itself and its rivals – including Twitch soundtrack, animated emotes, squad streams, and better mod tools for chatters. The Amazon-owned platform also unveiled a ‘boost’ feature that allows users to pay to have their favorite streamer’s channel promoted to others, but that didn’t win over many hearts and minds. The feature was immediately blasted by plenty of big streamers, and there had been hopes that Twitch would pull a u-turn and ditch it. However, they’ve pressed on with its release. As of October 28, the controversial feature has started rolling out to Twitch users in North America, allowing them to pay anywhere from $0.99 to $500 to have their chosen streamer recommended to others. With the testing of the feature going live, plenty of creators have hit out at the platform for simply ignoring the previous complaints. “The entire twitch community unanimously hated it and they are doing it anyway. Twitch has given up” said Harris Heller, a music producer. “I’ve never seen so much overwhelming “we hate this” from the community and Twitch -still- go through with it. Deeply concerning,” noted ShanonZKiller. Twitch streamer Lowco urged Twitch to give streamers the “real data” that shows the boost being effective in helping them grow. “Twitch’s pay to boost feature sadly seems like just another way hopeful streamers will be misled,” she added. They’re doing it anyway. The entire twitch community unanimously hated it and they are doing it anyway. Twitch has given up. https://t.co/Vcgw4ZxkQ7 — Harris Heller (@HarrisHeller) October 28, 2021 Twitch streamers are taken advantage of in so many ways. Unless we get real data that proves their effectiveness, Twitch’s pay to boost feature sadly seems like just another way hopeful streamers will be misled. — Lowco (@LowcoTV) October 28, 2021 Other streamers have pleaded with viewers to not activate any boosts on their channel. “If you attend my streams, PLEASE do not spend your money on this. It’s an utter waste of money,” added AbleGamers’ Steven Spohn. “If you want more eyes on your favorite creator’s stream, tell people about it, share their clips and going live tweets, host their channels. Please do not pay to boost,” posted Michakes. Please don’t use this feature. Streamers do not see a cent of this money, it literally all goes to Twitch. If you want more eyes on your favorite creator’s stream, tell people about it, share their clips and going live tweets, host their channels. Please do not pay to boost. https://t.co/vsioaCjVIb — michakes 🌈 (@_Michaela) October 28, 2021 To be crystal clear, the money goes straight to Twitch. Your streamer does not see any of the money the boost — Steven Spohn (Spawn) (@stevenspohn) October 28, 2021 While the Twitch community has rallied against the feature, it seems likely it’ll become a permanent addition if the platform has data to show it is being used. Though, we’ll have to wait and see what happens as the testing continues to roll out to additional channels.

Twitch criticized for allowing streamer charged with assaulting his wife back on platform Twitch streamer Luke ‘MrDeadMoth’ Munday, who has been charged with attacking his pregnant wife while playing Fortnite, was back streaming on the platform on December 30, prompting angry responses online. On December 9, 2018 MrDeadMoth was playing Fortnite on his channel when he and his wife began arguing. After the argument became heated, Munday stopped playing, moved away from the camera and his wife could be heard screaming on the stream. Following the incident, Munday, 26, was arrested and charged with common assault. He appeared in court on December 13, where the case was adjourned until January 10 to allow Mr Munday to receive adequate legal advice. The court documents stated that the prosecution has a strong case because “there are numerous independent witnesses to the offence as a portion of the incident was livestreamed”. Despite this, MrDeadMoth was back streaming Fortnite on Twitch on December 30. Users in his chat who referenced the December 9 incident were banned or timed out from chatting. His return to the platform has received backlash online, as Twitter users called out Twitch for not permanently banning the streamer’s channel. Hopefully everyone is reporting this flog. Actually disgusting he is allowed to be on streaming. Also a piss take he has it in follow mode to comment so naturally milking it for all its worth — Nick Bobir (@TaintedSav) January 2, 2019 Hey @Twitch @Twitch_ANZ how is the absolute spineless worm MrDeadMoth able to stream on your platform again after bashing his wife/fiance on stream. Pretty disgusting that hes even allowed an account after that despicable act. — Goreway (@GorewayPUBG) January 2, 2019 The man who beat his wife on stream (MrDeadMoth) is currently live streaming from your platform, how have you allowed this to happen bruh @Twitch — faze hazz (@Hazz) January 2, 2019 Munday has been granted permission to miss his next court date, while police have reportedly applied for an apprehended violence order. This is an Order made by an Australian court “against a person who makes you fear for your safety, to protect you from further violence, intimidation or harassment.” Police confirmed that there were two young girls, aged 20 months and three-years-old, in the home at the time of the December 9 incident, who can also be heard in the livestream clip.

Twitch adds new paid chat feature to rival YouTube’s Super Chat TwitchTwitch announced it’s testing a new monetization feature that allows chatters to pay for message priority, similar to YouTube Live. Twitch has plenty of ways for streamers to monetize their own streams, including channel subscriptions and bit donations. However, Twitch revealed it’s currently testing a new monetization feature that some YouTube Live viewers may find strikingly similar to Super Chats. Twitch unveiled the Elevated Chat feature, which allows viewers to pay to have their chat messages remain at the top of a streamer’s chat for a certain period of time. Twitch reveals Elevated Chat feature The news came from the official Twitch Support Twitter account, which tweeted out that the platform is “experimenting with a new way for viewers to pay to support their favorite streamers.” For now, Elevated Chat is only available for a select group of partners at the time of writing, though Twitch plans to roll this feature out sometime after testing ends “4 weeks starting at the end of September.” Regarding Elevated Chat itself, viewers can make a one-time payment via the platform, similar to how donating bits works, that will pin their chat message to the top of the chat window. Viewers will be able to choose from five different tiers, which will lengthen the message’s duration depending on the cost. Viewers can pay $5 at the lowest cost for their message to display for 30 seconds, while $100 will have their message linger for two and a half minutes. Additionally, both the streamer and channel moderators will have control over Elevated Chats, should they need to ban or timeout viewers using the feature for unintended purposes. Interestingly, Elevated chats will feature a 70/30 payment split between Twitch and its creators. This is quite noteworthy, considering the company only recently made the announcement that all streamers would be subject to the new 50/50 payment split regardless of status. Though Twitch has made it clear this “experiment” will last for four weeks, it’s unclear when exactly the Elevated Chat feature will be available for all partnered streamers.

Twitch’s Creative Director djWHEAT responds to Alinity situation Twitter: DJWheat/Twitch: Alinity.Twitch’s Creative Director Marcus ‘djWHEAT’ Graham has weighed in on the ongoing Alinity situation, revealing what he would do if he had the power to make decisions on the live streaming platform. Popular streamer Alinity Devine sparked controversy during her July 18 stream when she was seen tossing her cat across her room. Outraged social media members dug up previous videos of her seemingly mistreating the pet by feeding it vodka and placing stickers over its face, while also accusing her of animal abuse. A whole host of people from comedian Ricky Gervais, to PETA, and other Twitch streamers have weighed on in the situation – with many calling for Alinity to be punished. While Twitch has yet to put out any comment, djWHEAT – a former StarCraft II personality turned Twitch employee – has given his opinion on the controversy. During a Twitter thread from July 21, Twitch’s creative director finally responded to calls for him to step up and suspend Alinity’s channel. Considering he can’t do that, he gave his thoughts on the situation regardless. “As a cat owner, I’m very upset over the recent news,” he started. “I am also someone who does not have moderation powers or enforcement. Just like I can’t fix your subscriptions. I want to see a ban. I do not want to be harassed because you think that’s the right thing to do.” As a cat owner, I’m very upset over the recent news. I am also someone who does not have moderation powers or enforcement. Just like I can’t fix your subscriptions. I want to see a ban. I do not want to be harassed because you think that’s the right thing to do. — djWHEAT (@djWHEAT) July 21, 2019 While djWHEAT can’t suspend anyone’s account, that didn’t stop him from revealing what he would do if he had any moderation powers. The former StarCraft II caster continued: “If it was up to me… I would ban her for at least 30 days. I would ask to see an awareness stream and potential charity drive for pet abuse or pet charities. I would put forth a 90-day probation post-ban with a no-tolerance period (you mess up = ban) & check-ins.” If it was up to me… – I would ban her for at least 30 days – I would ask to see an awareness stream and potential charity drive for pet abuse or pet charities – I would put forth a 90 day probation post-ban with a no-tolerance period (you mess up = ban) & check ins— djWHEAT (@djWHEAT) July 21, 2019 Of course, this list of ideas was purely hypothetical and potentially not what Twitch has lined-up for the streamer. Regardless, djWHEAT added that the final decision rests with the moderation team and everyone should let them do their jobs. “Just because they don’t tweet you play by play doesn’t mean they aren’t hard at work 24/7,” he concluded. Ultimately, I think everyone should let the @Twitch Moderation Teams do their jobs. Just because they don’t tweet you play by play doesn’t mean they aren’t hard at work 24/7. — djWHEAT (@djWHEAT) July 21, 2019 It still remains to be seen if Twitch has something up their sleeve in terms of punishing the streamer publicly. While she hasn’t been banned or suspended just yet, Alinity has not streamed since the controversy initially unfolded on July 19.

Twitch copies Instagram and TikTok with new feature just for mobile Twitch/Unsplash: AxvilleTwitch is following in the footsteps of Instagram and TikTok by adding a Stories feature to mobile, and yes, it’ll work the exact same way as those two do. As the internet becomes obsessed with a feature on one social media platform, others quickly move to try and add it to their own platform – be it with a straight-up copy or putting their own spin on it. We’ve seen plenty of examples of this in the last few years, especially when it comes to Twitch and other platforms popping up. Former Twitch streamers that have moved to the likes of YouTube and Kick have gotten those to add things like clips, a directory page, and different options in chat. Twitch is typically the trendsetter on that front, however, now they’ve copied something that was first pioneered by Instagram and has since been copied by TikTok. That’s right, Stories. Twitch adds Stories on mobile app Yes, Twitch is now rolling out a Stories feature on mobile so that streamers can update their fans on things even if they’re offline for a day or two. The new feature was announced at TwitchCon Paris, but it is in a gradual rollout phase. Streamers who want to use Stories will have had to have streamed for at least 45 minutes since the start of September. However, it will not be available in South Korea. On top of that, streamers will have the chance to create Sub-only stories. Though, if you want to use that, you’ll have to have at least 30 subscribers when the feature rolls out to you. It remains to be seen how widely used the Stories feature is, given that Twitch is well behind other platforms in rolling it out. The Amazon-owned platform recently cut the Community Moments feature given that it was very rarely used and if Stories has a similar use, it won’t be long before that is on the chopping block.

Twitch council member CohhCarnage pushing for major change to bans Twitch/CohhCarnageAs a member of the Twitch Safety Advisory Council, streamer Ben ‘CohhCarnage’ Cassell has explained one major change he wants to make following the confusing ban of World of Warcraft streamer Mohamed ‘Ziqo’ Beshir. On January 19, Ziqo revealed that he would not be streaming for a few days due to a Twitch suspension, but was clearly a bit confused by what had happened, unaware of the reason for his ban. Shortly after, Ziqo revealed that he had learned the reason for his suspension: using hateful speech and slurs, deducing himself that he believed that they were accusing him of using a homophobic slur. While the WoW veteran didn’t fully understand what he must have said or done to cause the suspension, he accepted it and his account was restored on January 26. Right now I believe I got suspended because @TwitchSupport misheard my f*ck it (in clip below) for a homophobic slur. Similar to Forsen. So I made another appeal, again this is only speculation since Twitch never showed me the flagged content. https://t.co/dCPugcarMW — Ziqo (@Ziqoftw) January 25, 2021 With a number of fans of different streamers questioning the bans being handed out to streamers, the conversation around Twitch suspensions is growing increasingly more confusing for some, but CohhCarnage has come up with a simple fix. Saying that Ziqo’s ban reversal was “great to hear,” Cohh added that the issue should have been “fixed in minutes,” calling on Twitch to “come up with policies where people given false bans get front page time for the time they lost.” He followed up saying that one huge problem is Twitch not including account managers in the process. He tweeted: “If that account manager was given the clip, he could have shown it to Ziqo. Ziqo could have said, ‘No, I didn’t say that. I said this.’ Problem solved.” One huge, glaring problem is not including account managers in this process. If that account manager was given the clip, he could have shown it to Ziqo, Ziqo could have said, “”No, I didn’t say that. I said this.”” Bam. PROBLEM SOLVED. Whole ban would have lasted less than an hour. — Cohh Carnage (@CohhCarnage) January 26, 2021 In a later follow-up tweet, Cassell responded to someone asking whether his role on the Twitch Safety Advisory Council has resulted in any changes behind the scenes. While he couldn’t go into specifics, Cohh mentioned that he is “pushing for this exact thing to be handled exponentially better than it is right now.” Nothing I can talk about publicly but know that I’m pushing for this EXACT THING to be handled exponentially better than it is right now. — Cohh Carnage (@CohhCarnage) January 26, 2021 Of course, in his role with Twitch, fans will be hoping this means more positive changes to how bans are handled, especially with situations such as Ziqo’s that seem to confuse just about everyone.

Twitch cooking streamer blows chat away with insane guitar solo Henry PhillipsDuring a Twitch broadcast, cooking streamer Henlips1 surprised viewers by performing an amazing guitar solo. A comedian and musician, Henry Phillips possesses a great many talents, one of which includes cooking. Notably, he shares the latter passion online via a YouTube page – Henry Phillips – and a Twitch channel – Henlips 1. Phillips’ Twitch viewers typically tune in to see Henry’s Kitchen, a show wherein the multitalented streamer gives cooking lessons. Every so often, though, Phillips pulls out a guitar and surprises the chat with skills that many did not expect. Twitch streamer’s awesome guitar solo surprises viewers During a recent Twitch broadcast, Henry Phillips impressed viewers with an electric guitar solo they won’t soon forget. “Henry Van Halen,” someone in the chat wrote while Phillips shredded away at his guitar. “He’s almost as good at guitar as he is at cooking,” another person commented. Meanwhile, several dozen other viewers filled the chat with expletives, making their general shock abundantly clear. Those who tuned in to the cooking stream were especially gobsmacked by Phillips’ ability to play the iconic guitar riff from Guns N’ Roses’ ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’. Clearly, Henlips1 viewers join the show for the cooking lessons but stick around for the Twitch streamer’s surprise guitar solos. Either way, it would seem that most appreciate the content. Phillips also casually drops good advice during his cooking streams. In one recent instance, the cook and comedian told chat that wearing protective eyewear while cutting onions is the best way to prevent unwanted tears. There’s no telling what kind of gems will come from Henry’s Kitch next.

TwitchCon Las Vegas 2023: Dates, location, streamers, more TwitchTwitchCon 2023 is headed to Las Vegas. Here’s everything you need to know to tune in, including the event dates, locations, and which streamers are coming. Twitch previously revealed the dates and locations for this year’s TwitchCon events in February 2023, hyping up fans before meeting their favorite streamers. In addition to Las Vegas, TwitchCon 2023 took place in Paris in July 2023, with content creators like KarlJacobs and GeorgeNotFound in attendance – creators who also hosted a highly-anticipated live episode of their Banter podcast during the event. Now, TwitchCon will soon make its way to North America. Here’s everything we know about Twitch Con 2023 in Las Vegas, including dates, locations, and who you’ll be able to meet there. TwitchCon 2023 Las Vegas dates & locations Twitch’s February blog post revealed that TwitchCon 2023 Las Vegas will take place from October 20 to October 22, 2023, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Which streamers are attending TwitchCon 2023 Las Vegas? Here are some of the confirmed streamers attending TwitchCon 2023 Las Vegas: Amouranth – Mizkif – Pokimane – Hasan – QuarterJade – Chica – Rubius – ElSpreen – SypherPK – GeorgeNotFound – You can check out the full lineup on TwitchCon’s official website. TwitchCon will hold various activities for attendees to participate in, including community panels and interactive workshops. The festivities also include an artist alley, an expo floor, and a glitch theater. TwitchCon 2023 Las Vegas’s schedule is packed with events like Games Done Quick Express, which follows speedrunning sessions that benefit charities. You can also learn to play games like Magic: The Gathering and Star Wars: Unlimited. Head over to TwitchCon’s official website for a detailed schedule of events. For more Twitch news and other viral stories, check out Dexerto’s coverage here.

Twitch confirms action against 150 streamers amid $10m money-laundering scandal TwitchIt is alleged that a total of $9.8 million was laundered through fraudulent credit card transactions on Twitch, primarily in Turkey. Twitch says it has taken action against multiple streamers in Turkey for abuse of the platform’s monetization systems. The scandal first gained attention after the infamous Twitch hacks in which the income of the site’s highest earners was leaked. Following this, users noticed that streamers with a very small following were earning a lot of money every single day. According to Middle East Eye, these streamers only had around 50 viewers, but thousands of dollars were transferred in the form of Bits. It’s alleged that hackers stole credit cards and then arranged with the streamers to donate money to them using Bits. The streamers would then refund 70-80% of the money back into bank accounts owned by the hackers, keeping the rest. ⚠️ Twitch has reportedly had a massive data breach, revealing sensitive info, including earnings of top streamers. Other leaked info includes an Amazon-owned Steam competitor, source code, and passwords. pic.twitter.com/DTYlEa3r0S — Dexerto (@Dexerto) October 6, 2021 Twitch takes action against streamers and hackers In a statement to Dexerto, Twitch said they took action against 150 streamers in September, for abuse of its monetization tools. “Recently, members of the Twitch community have expressed concerns toward the legitimacy of some creators’ revenues in Turkey. We want to assure our community that we do not hesitate to take decisive action against accounts engaged in prohibited conduct,” a Twitch spokesperson said. “We take efforts to combat and prevent financial fraud on Twitch on a regular basis, and, in September alone, we took action against over 150 partners in Turkey for abuse of our monetization tools.” Furthermore, Twitch says that it is working with anyone affected by the scam who reached out to them, and will “continue to identify and remove any broadcasters found to have engaged in financial practices that are in violation of local laws or Twitch policies.” Valorant pros involved in Twitch money-laundering As Dexerto previously reported, multiple Valorant pros benefited from the scheme, including Acend’s Mehmet Yağız ‘cNed’ İpek who admitted as much in a Twitch stream. While Riot Games is expected to ban those involved, cNed claims he wasn’t directly involved and that the “bit-dude” spoke with his brother. “That guy sent me the bits, the bits transferred to me. I didn’t report those bits to Twitch, I acknowledge that. I didn’t report to Twitch and took the money,” he revealed. We will update this story if further action is taken by the streaming site or Riot games.

Twitch community requests transgender tag to help find creators easily Sharon McCutcheon, Unsplash.comTwitch users are rallying for a new tag on the platform specifically for its transgender broadcasters, an effort that has ramped up amid the divisive removal of its PogChamp emote. Twitch is a hive for content of all sorts. From IRL streams to gaming broadcasts and even esports events, the platform boasts a wealth of entertainment for all audiences — but some viewers are asking the site for an easier way to connect with certain streamers. For some time now, transgender content creators have been petitioning the platform to create a tag specifically for transgender streamers. This effort seems to have ramped up as of late, as the site made a huge change by banning its PogChamp emote in early January. Several broadcasters are rallying in support of the transgender tag, including streamer ‘Miabyte,’ whose tweet on the movement has garnered attention across social media. “Hey Twitch, GG on removing PogChamp,” she wrote. “If y’all could give us a #Trans tag so we can find other transgender creators, that would make my 2021. And all the people replying to this tweet agree.” “Please stand behind trans creators on your platform,” she continued, noting that a specific tag for trans creators could help combat potential harassment and even “create bonds and communities to support one another.” Twitch. Pls stand behind trans creators on your platform. We already get harassment, a tag won’t change that. It will do the opposite. We can create bonds & communities to support one another. Help bolster representation on your platform. It’ll even increase your revenue. 👍 — Miabyte (miabyte.bsky.social) 🎙️ Voice Acting Arc (@miabyte) January 7, 2021 Allegedly, Twitch has previously claimed they were working toward such a tag. However, after two years of silence, those in the community are brainstorming their own ideas for the initiative. It’s worth noting that Twitch does already boast an LGBTQIA+ tag on its website, but transgender broadcasters are hopeful for a tag that will specifically direct interested viewers to their content, specifically. A trans tag is the highest requested feature in terms of browsing and search. Been featured as an issue in multiple articles on gaming journo sites such as @techradar and @Polygon. Everyone wants this. Please tell us more about your solution Twitch.https://t.co/3wTyv54Ofa — Miabyte ミアバイト🔴LIVE NOW @ Twitch.tv/Miabyte 🏳️⚧️ (@themiabyte) January 7, 2021 Thus far, the movement has been met with ample support online, with many users noting that a transgender tag could help bring awareness to trans streamers and help bring viewers to their broadcasts. This has similarly kicked off a conversation regarding other specific tags that do not yet exist on Twitch, such as a tag for differently-abled streamers. While the movement continues to gain steam, users are hopeful the platform will take action and listen to its community to create a more inclusive environment.

Twitch community warns of impending ‘adpocalypse’ in midst of crack down on ASMR meta Pixabay / TwitchEven after Twitch took action against several high-profile streamers dipping into the platform’s controversial ASMR meta, many community members believe the service is still careening towards its own ‘adpocalypse’ advertiser pullout. Despite several major changes by Twitch to address concerns, the platform’s hot tub meta remains a highly controversial subject. However, many so-called ‘hot tub streamers’ have now forsaken that content for a new ‘ASMR meta’ that has the platform divided yet again. After only a few days, Twitch banned two of its biggest personalities — Amouranth and Indiefoxx — for their participation in the new meta, but despite that action, many believe the platform has set itself on an irreversible crash-course with a YouTube-esque adpocalypse. After Amouranth and Indiefoxx were handed out their bans on June 18, many saw this as a victory against the types of content they argued do not belong on the platform. Others have a much darker outlook on the situation, however. ‘ShannonZKiller,’ wife of powerhouse Twitch streamer Christopher ‘Sacriel’ Ball (and a Twitch veteran and frequent platform commentator) issued a dire warning after hearing another streamer, ‘SweeetTails,’ speak out against the ASMR meta. The bottom line is and always will be “is it hurting other streamers?” And the answer is yes – because if you think a brand exodus aka adpocalypse isn’t inevitable with the way this type of content is rapidly evolving then you haven’t been paying attention. It’s coming. https://t.co/Wk2YhycFfx — Shannon (@shannonplante) June 18, 2021 In her Twitter response, Shannon predicted a grim outcome for Twitch as a whole because of these controversial metas: a massive advertiser pullout, similar to the platform-altering ‘adpocalypse’ events that slammed YouTube creators with massive revenue losses. Shannon is not alone in her assessment of Twitch’s ad trajectory. Ali ‘SypherPK’ Hassan, one of the platform’s biggest personalities, shared his own concerns about the metas, and also revealed that some companies have already changed their ad strategies — and not in a good way. Syphers words today when tim and the boys brought up these ASMR streams. pic.twitter.com/8DiKjfrwAg — Sen (@senyah2hell) June 19, 2021 “There are some companies out there that are hesitant right now on the Twitch side of things, which is not a good sign,” he revealed. “We’re thinking ‘adpocalypse 2.0’ but on Twitch,” he continued, echoing Shannon’s thoughts on the situation. “I’ve literally had a company hesitate on their ad campaign because they’re worried about hot tub streams. Even though it has nothing to do with what I do, sometimes these companies think big picture: do we want to be associated with this [content]?” While Twitch stepped up their moderation of the ASMR category much sooner than many streamers had anticipated, the platform’s future advertising outlook seems bleak — something that has been a major concern for creators since the start of the hot tub meta. Only time will tell how the situation unfolding in the platform’s two most controversial categories is ultimately resolved, but many of the space’s most influential commentators and streamers have quite an adpocalyptic outlook on what’s to come for Twitch in the future.

Twitch clip NFT-selling website shuts down after backlash from streamers & fans Twitch/MyClips.tvA website selling the most popular Twitch clips in history as NFTs came under some serious scrutiny from both streamers and fans alike — and now they’ve announced that they’re shutting down entirely. NFTs — short for Non-Fungible Tokens — have become a hugely popular market on the blockchain, with collectors buying digital artwork for hundreds of thousands of dollars. We’ve seen top influencers like Nadeshot and Logan Paul invest millions of dollars into NFTs, with the hopes that they increase in price over time and become even more expensive commodities to own. While the technology is still very young, one website started selling Twitch clips as NFTs, and it very quickly garnered a lot of attention for all the wrong reasons. This twitter account seems to be selling twitch clips as NFTs? pic.twitter.com/ZbJQFauaxZ — Dexerto (@Dexerto) August 31, 2021 With popular streamers like Mizkif hitting out at the practice, MyClips was forced to reconsider their business strategy. Despite saying that the money goes to the streamers, this has not been verified nor advertised by said creators. After being shared far and wide, the website officially announced on September 1 that they would be shutting down, thanking the community for voicing their concerns. “We wanted to experiment with a new way to donate to streamers, but we clearly missed the mark,” they explained in an apologetic tweet. “For that we are truly sorry and we apologize for all the frustration this has caused.” Thanks to the community for voicing their concerns. In light of this, we’re closing the site. We wanted to experiment with a new way to donate to streamers, but we clearly missed the mark. For that we are truly sorry and we apologize for all the frustration this has caused. — MyClips.tv (@myclipstv) September 1, 2021 Selling Twitch clips as NFTs definitely isn’t a terrible idea, but the execution has to be perfect and, more importantly, the original creators have to be on board. While MyClips is closing down, don’t be surprised to see more Twitch clip NFTs pop up in the future, as creators seek to capitalize on their online success.

Twitch criticized for featuring “sexually suggestive content” on the front page Flickr/Chris MarchantWith Twitch still under pressure amid the rise of sexually suggestive content on the platform, viewers noticed a very mature performance featured on the front page of the site. Twitch has been feeling the heat lately with the rise of the hot tub, ASMR and gambling metas that have taken over the site, leading to a lot of frustration and questions from viewers over what is acceptable. While the Amazon-owned platform created a special pools, hot tubs and beaches category to distance the content away from the Just Chatting section, many of the meta’s most prominent streamers, such as Amouranth and Indiefoxx, moved onto ASMR ear licking instead. Once things got out of hand with those broadcasts, Twitch issued a three-day suspension for those streamers, which was seen as a mere bandaid fix by some high-profile names, including Alinity and Pokimane. Warning: The following video contains content some viewers may find offensive. So this was font page today on Twitch and I don’t get it. It really feels like an anything-goes website nowadays. If someone wants to do this there are sites for that, Twitch shouldn’t have sexually suggestive content on the front page (or on the platform imo). pic.twitter.com/ynbkho3v8E — Xillix (@XillixGG) June 25, 2021 The content itself consists of numerous suggestive acts, including a scene where a man appears to lick another performer’s boots. Video of the stream was screengrabbed by Twitter user XillixGG and then uploaded with the following caption: “So this was front page today on Twitch and I don’t get it. It really feels like an anything-goes website nowadays.” This is legit, I had to look at my browser to make sure I typed twitch right. — Xillix (@XillixGG) June 25, 2021 “If someone wants to do this there are sites for that, Twitch shouldn’t have sexually suggestive content on the front page,” they continued. XillixGG continued, “This is legit, I had to look at my browser to make sure I typed Twitch right,” when asked by other users. The channel in question, ‘rhondaintl,’ describes itself as “LA’s premiere passionate party community” and doesn’t feature VODs of its content. However, the show seems to be part of a Pride-themed streaming festival called ‘RhondaVision.’ #Rhondavision is livestreamed only! not archived anywhere at the minute. Catch the last night of the stream tonight from 6PM pacific at https://t.co/IZXuRNhvt7 ❤️ https://t.co/itEAuETON0 — Miss Worldwide (@RhondaINTL) June 24, 2021 Users were surprised this content was allowed on Twitch, and featured so prominently. YouTuber Glink simply replied to the video upload by calling the site “a joke.” “Twitch is not a gaming platform anymore. It is a livestreaming platform. I don’t agree with the content being on the platform but it’s not a gaming platform,” another user added. Twitch enforces strict rules against suggestive content. Spanish streamer Ibai was banned for accidentally showing a man’s buttocks and Twitch star Ponce was suspended for airing a second of nudity from a 70s French film. RhondaINTL has yet to comment on the controversy and their channel remains intact on Twitch for the time being.

Twitch clarifies ‘simp’ and ‘virgin’ ban after streamer outrage Unsplash/Caspar Rubin/TwitchTwitch’s new harassment rules have come under fire for banning words such as “simp,” “virgin,” and “incel.” However, the Amazon-owned company has clarified the terms aren’t being ‘blanket banned,’ and context will be taken into consideration. Twitch came under fire on December 16 for introducing new changes to their “Hateful Conduct” policy that banned streamers and viewers from using words like “simp,” “incel,” and “virgin.” The change in policy, which is set to be enacted on January 22, 2021, will apply both to chat and conduct on the screen. They are not the only words Twitch are cracking down on, with the Amazon-owned company looking towards all “sexually-focused terms” used “negatively.” Under Twitch’s new policy, words like “”simp”

Twitch claims Valorant caster is underage even though she was hired for Twitch Rivals Instagram/aevilcatTwitch streamer and Valorant esports caster Mimi ‘aEvilcat’ Wermcrantz was shocked to see she had to confirm she wasn’t underage to apply for the partnership program despite working TwitchRivals. For many streamers, being approved for a Twitch partnership is a big step up in their career, as it earns them more money through ads, better support and other benefits. While some streamers have struggled to be approved to partner – with one just recently being rejected 23 times in a row – you’d think a caster who worked Twitch Rivals and even Valorant Champions 2022 would have no issues. Well, imagine aEvilcat’s surprise when she was told she had to verify her age, and that the Amazon-owned platform believed she was younger than 13. Valorant caster forced to confirm age on Twitch In a post on Twitter, aEvilcat uploaded a screenshot from Twitch asking her to confirm that she was over 13 and she’d need to fill out a form to continue her partnership application. “Guys I’m 12 they finally found me out,” the 20-year-old joked. Attempting to circumvent the required form approval, the caster cited her work on Twitch Rivals adding, “If I’m 12 then ya’ll hiring me to cast Twitch Rivals that one time is a flagrant child labor violation.” It’s not clear if her time on Twitch Rivals will actually help speed the process along, but it definitely makes the whole situation a bit weirder. if im 12 then yall hiring me to cast twitch rivals that one time is a FLAGRANT CHILD LABOR VIOLATION — mimi (@aEvilcat) May 23, 2023 checkmate @Twitch In any case, hopefully she won’t have long to wait and her application can be approved sooner rather than later so she can get all the advantages that come with being a Twitch partner.

Twitch clarifies “N word” policy due to confusion from streamers TwitchAfter introducing updates to their Hateful Conduct and Harassment Policy that were criticized by the community, Twitch has announced new guidelines surrounding the use of certain racial slurs on the streaming service. On December 9, Twitch announced an update to the platform’s Hateful Conduct and Harassment Policy. The updates include more protections for groups on the platform, “particularly women, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, Black, Indigenous, and people of color.” Twitch stated then that their goals were “to take a clearer and more consistent stance against hate and harassment, and to give you [the community] greater insight on what is and isn’t acceptable on Twitch.” Following that first announcement, Twitch issued a series of tweets on December 19 confirming their stance on the use of racial slurs, particularly “the N word.” Additionally, regardless of spelling or pronunciation, slurs used for the purpose of hate or harassment are not allowed. — Twitch (@Twitch) December 19, 2020 Twitch has made it clear that any use of the word as a racial slur will not be tolerated, and it has already been blocked across the entire service. The platform’s Twitter account issued a follow-up, stating that “regardless of spelling or pronunciation, slurs used for the purpose of hate or harassment are not allowed.” While many users posted positive responses and praised Twitch for taking action, others were critical that it took this long for the site to take action, blocking other phrases before apparently getting around to this. Okay but why was the full on N word hard R allowed to be said on Twitch in general and today is the day that is changed. HUH 🤣 — iamBrandon 🔜 Dreamhack Dallas (@iamBrandonTV) December 19, 2020 As a Black partner on twitch for 8 years I’ve always wondered why it was even able to be typed in the first place. https://t.co/jwywUUs9qE — Nick Polom (@nmplol) December 19, 2020 In another recent policy update, Twitch also added clarifications on the use of terms like “simp,” “incel,” and “virgin,” and update that was widely criticized by the Twitch community, and actually led to a major increase in the use of all of the targeted terms. Twitch did issue another statement clarifying their position after that update too. Clarifying that they “will take action when words like this (amongst others) are used to harass and harm community members.” The change in policy, which is scheduled to start on January 22, 2021, will apply to both chat and conduct on-screen. It remains to be seen what other phrases or words might be blocked as well, but Twitch has promised to answer community questions before the change goes into effect. Based on the responses so far, we’d wager there will be quite a few come time for that Q&A.

Twitch channel streaming Morbius 24/7 banned after going viral Sony/TwitchTwitch has banned a bizarre new channel broadcasting the Sony super hero film ‘Morbius’ 24/7, but not before it went viral streaming for 12 hours straight. Morbius has become one of the biggest meme movies of the year. The notorious bad super hero flick was panned by critics and fans alike, but somehow, it’s ended up becoming a bit of a cult classic. Morbius’ status as a meme movie began prior to its release with lead actor Jared Leto being interviewed by Hololive’s Shirakami Fubuki in a strange VTuber crossover. Now, with memes about Morbius at an all-time high and fans adopting somewhat of a newfound love for the film, a Twitch account began streaming the movie nonstop. Watching Morbius the way God Intended pic.twitter.com/qXjVb3uQcZ — Radstads (@Radstads) May 26, 2022 Twitch bans 24/7 Morbius stream Late on May 25, the Morbius247 stream channel began spreading on Twitter after being posted by Radstads. The original post was retweeted over 10,000 times and received over 100,000 likes with many users confused over stream’s existence. Hilariously, viewers kept tuning in and the stream itself ended up forming its own memes in the chat where fellow ‘Morbheads’ gathered. By the way, Twitch admins were def watching the movie too before they deleted the channel cause it didn’t get deleted until the movie actually ended — Agent Orange (@Agent_Oraaaange) May 26, 2022 Screenshots of the stream show viewers reacting to the broadcast by posting comments such as “he’s Morbed out” and “it’s Morbin time.” Eventually, there were 6,000 people tuning in with some users even suspecting Twitch admins were in chat watching as the stream only got banned once the movie ended. It’s not surprising to see the channel banned given Twitch’s DMCA guidelines, but this is definitely one of the strangest broadcasts we’ve seen on the platform in quite sometime.

Twitch chat tricks Alinity into accidentally showing nudity on stream Twitch/AlinityTwitch star Natalia ‘Alinity’ Mogollon was left hoping she wouldn’t be banned after accidentally showing nudity live on stream. Alinity is one of the most popular Twitch streamers, but her rise to the top has been controversial to say the least. From her infamous cat throwing scandal to wardrobe malfunctions, the Colombian-Canadian has gotten herself into some wild Twitch shenanigans, but she’s remained relitively under the radar in recent years. However, on October 4, all that could have changed as the streamer watched episodes of 90 Day Fiance with her chat and was baited into showing something she wanted to avoid. Alinity baited into showing breasts on Twitch During her broadcast, the streamer received a message from a viewer informing her that they have a “huge surprise” coming up for her. At first, the streamer looked baffled and pulled the message up for a closer look to analyze the user’s statistics. When it seemed like she couldn’t find anything worth noting, she shrugged her shoulders and looked away, but as this was happening, 90 Day Fiance was still playing and showed a woman breastfeeding. “Ahh!” she shrieked, quickly closing the video. “Are you f**king kidding me right now? Every time we see these two, the kid’s got the t*tty out.” Luckily for Alinity, she likely won’t be banned for showing the clip as Twitch had previously ruled that breastfeeding doesn’t violate the company’s guidelines. Still, showing nudity on stream is generally something streamers try to avoid so it makes sense that Alinity would freak out after showing the clip on a live broadcast.

Twitch changes ban rules after streamers talk to Dr Disrespect while live YouTube/DrDisrespectTwitch has covertly changed its rules for streamers in regards to playing with others who have been banned on the platform, such as Dr Disrespect. Being banned on Twitch can be a major issue for anyone looking simply game, as other streamers may feel the need to avoid you out of fear of being banned themselves. Now, however, it would seem like the site is loosening its rules. Previously, Twitch’s “suspension evasion” community guidelines rules were listed as: “Any attempt to circumvent an account suspension or chat ban by using other accounts, identities, personalities, or presence on another user’s account will also result in suspension.” This basically meant that for streamers who wanted to play with someone who had been banned on the platform weren’t allowed to. However, big names such as 100 Thieves founder Nadeshot and Call of Duty pro Ian ‘Crimsix’ Porter had a bit of a scare when they spoke with Doc during Vikkstar’s Warzone tournament in September. The concern even resulted in Call of Duty icon Hector ‘H3CZ’ Rodriguez calling out Twitch over the fear streamers have for being banned if they engage with the two-time. “If I’m Twitch I’m going to take a little bit of a chill pill and say, ‘okay, he’s not there presently, it’s only 99% of his personality that’s being broadcast on a Twitch channel,’” he remarked. On September 22, the platform apparently listened and updated its community guidelines to be more clear on how Doc’s ban could impact other streamers. “In addition, it is prohibited to use your channel to knowingly feature or advertise a suspended user,” the new information states. “We understand that there may be instances where suspended users may appear on your stream due to circumstances beyond your control, such as through third-party gaming tournaments, but we expect that you make a good faith effort to remove them from your broadcast, mute them, or otherwise limit their interactions with your stream.” While this news is good and appears to guarantee that Nadeshot and Crimsix won’t be getting suspended, it does still seem like they won’t be able to ever play with Dr Disrespect in any sort of way that requires communication and teamwork. Twitch infamously banned Dr Disrespect back on June 26 and still hasn’t explained what the streamer did to deserve being permanently kicked off the platform. Doc has since moved to YouTube where he now streams full-time.

Twitch channel smashes world record for most hours streamed in a month JayBigs/TwitchA streamer known by the alias ‘JayBigs’, has de-throned the previous record for the most hours streamed in a single month on Twitch after clocking in a colossal 569 hours in just 30 days. We reached out to gather his perspective on the record-breaking feat. Merely 10 days after Runescape player, ItsArmand, received the spotlight for breaking the world record for hours streamed in a single month, Twitch streamer, Jackson ‘JayBigs’ Bigsby, has taken the record from beneath his feet on August 30. Beginning his record-breaking escapade at the beginning of August, the Twitch streamer spent the vast majority of his time playing popular battle royale PUBG. The 25-year-old American dabbles in a wide variety of first-person shooters but mostly stays loyal to his favorite title, PUBG. Having gained over 1,500 followers in the 30 day period, his follower count surpassed 4,400. Jackson Bigsby told Dexerto: “When I finished, it was an insane feeling! The chat [was] flying by so fast I couldn’t read it… The hardest and most fulfilling accomplishment of my life”, he continued by modestly adding “was building this awesome community to support me though it the real accomplishment?” Upon reaching the deadline (11:59 PM on August 30), Jackson tweeted to his social media following to declare his feat. In the video clipped from his Twitch stream, he opens what appears to be a bottle of champagne and casually signifies his joy as he adds “Gg, dude…” WE DID IT!!! Most Hours streamed in 30 days at569 total! Lets go!!! pic.twitter.com/5Iv2PZUtxN — Jackson (@NotJayBigs) August 31, 2019 The Twitch affiliate was inundated with support from his loyal fanbase. Specifically, long-time supporter @blul16 tweeted popular YouTube sensation Jimmy ‘MrBeast‘ Donaldson in a bid to give him the recognition that he deserves. Dear @MrBeastYT One of my long time favorite streamers is about to break the world record for most streamed hours in 1 month in Twitch! His name is @NotJayBigs and he’s been through a rough time the past 4 weeks. It’d be a nice thing If you stopped by and said hello 🙂 Take care— blul (@blul16) August 30, 2019 When asked what his plans were moving forward, Jackson told Dexerto: “Moving forward I will be streaming full-time, which is awesome! A dream! Continue to bring good content to my community ‘Team Positive Energy!’, and hopefully make partner on Twitch!” Alongside accruing more followers, JayBigs’ channel saw a linear increase in average viewers, with one stream (on August 25) drawing the attention of over 1,344 views. Given the transient nature of the world record, surely it’s only a matter of time before someone else steps up to the plate and surpasses JayBigs’ accomplishment, or is the 569-hour total going to prove too big of a challenge to take-on? In terms of advice for anyone thinking of taking on the challenge: “If you try this, be careful! Drink water, stretch, don’t push yourself and have a great community to back you up!”

Twitch CEO reveals why Adin Ross was kicked out of TwitchCon Twitch: DJClancy / Instagram: adinrossTwitch CEO Dan Clancy has revealed during one of his live streams the real reason why Adin Ross was kicked out of TwitchCon. TwitchCon 2023 saw popular content creators and fans travel to Las Vegas to celebrate the streaming platform. But the event did not go down without any drama; Adin Ross was kicked out after “crashing” TwitchCon with an entourage of smaller creators. The group was sporting Kick t-shirts at the time — merch from Twitch’s biggest competitor — leading many to believe this may have been the reason. Now Twitch CEO Dan Clancy is clearing up any confusion, revealing during his most recent livestream the real reason that Ross and his group were removed. Promising to answer questions from the chat, the first person to grab Clancy’s attention asked; “To provide context, during Twitchcon, [four] individuals purchased TwitchCon tickets wearing T-shirts of a competitor platform. After they were asked by Twitch personnel to leave, their accounts were banned on Twitch. What is your response on this if you have one?” Without skipping a beat, Clancy responded, “It had nothing to do with their t-shirts. Actually, there were a lot of folks inside that had Kick T-shirts — for those who didn’t notice, I ran into someone on the street [and] high-fived him.” Instead, Clancy explained that the group was kicked out because “They fraudulently obtained the tickets,” something that goes against Twitch’s policies. “If you’re permanently banned then you can’t get a ticket so they used false accounts,” Clancy said. “That’s part of the agreement when you get the tickets, that you’re not going to be falsely identifying yourself.” Ross has since responded, denying Clancy’s claim that the T-shirts had nothing to do with the group being kicked out of the event. Ross also questioned why the entire group would have their accounts banned for fraudulently obtaining tickets when some members were in fact partners with Twitch at the time. However, viewers of Clancy’s stream expressed gratitude for the CEO’s involvement with the community, one person writing in the chat, “Appreciate you being transparent and doing this stream!” Another said, “Makes sense. Thank you for clarifying this Dan! Some people are just really emotional when it comes to other streamers.” Be sure to check out all the latest entertainment news on our page here.

Twitch change stance on streamer charged for assault on wife following backlash It appears that Twitch streamer Luke ‘MrDeadMoth’ Munday’s brief return to Twitch is over, as it seems his account has now been permanently banned from the site. Munday was broadcasting Fortnite on his Twitch channel on December 9, 2018 when his wife entered the room and the couple began to argue. As the heated exhcnage continued, Munday stepped away from his camera and his wife could be heard screaming on his stream. The 26-year-old was arrested after the incident and charged with common assault, appearing in court on December 13. Even though legal proceedings are ongoing, MrDeadMoth returned to streaming on December 30, once again playing Fortnite for viewers. Members of his chat who made any reference to the incident that took place on December 9 were immediately timed out from chatting, or in some instances banned from the channel completely. The streamer’s return to the site was met with criticism from users on Twitter, who questioned why his channel hadn’t been permanently banned from the site. It seems that Twitch has responded to the backlash, as Munday’s channel is no longer available on the site. Users are now greeted by an error when trying to access his stream. A Twitch Spokesperson told Dexerto: “Protecting the integrity of our community is incredibly important to us. We want everyone on Twitch to have a safe and positive experience and work constantly toward that goal. Part of that work includes examining our policies and practices when we find they don’t properly address specific incidents to ensure we’re adapting as the Twitch community grows.” Munday’s case has been adjourned until January 10 to allow him to receive adequate legal advice, but has been given permission to miss his next court date. Reports suggest that Australian police have also applied for an apprehended violence order, which is made “against a person who makes you fear for your safety, to protect you from further violence, intimidation or harassment.”

Twitch CEO reveals the “best way” for new streamers to grow YouTube: KaratTwitch CEO Dan Clancy has revealed what he believes is the “best way” for new streamers to grow on the platform: Through collaboration and consistency. Streaming has completely blown up as a form of entertainment in the modern day, with plenty of individuals finding success in their streaming careers. Content creators like xQc, Valkyrae, Pokimane, and Amouranth have all seen huge growth on streaming platforms, allowing them to connect to their audience whilst providing entertaining content. With streaming becoming a more mainstream form of content, many viewers have strived to walk along a similar path, hoping to create similar content and engage with their own audience. However, building an audience and growing on sites like Twitch is no easy task, with plenty of streamers to choose from, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd. Now, the CEO of Twitch Dan Clancy, a part-time streamer in his own right, has revealed the best way for new streamers to grow and find an audience on the platform. In a recent interview with YouTuber Karat, the CEO of Twitch Dan Clancy spoke about all things streaming. Among these topics was the “best way” to grow on Twitch, especially for those newer to the site without an established audience. “The best way to grow on Twitch is collaboration with other streamers,” Clancy explained. They elaborated on this point, saying that consistency alongside collaboration is key to building an audience on Twitch. “Creating a channel and building a following and building a community takes persistence. You can’t do it, ‘I’m going to do it Tuesday this week and then do it in a month and then I’m going to do it in four months’ cause that doesn’t form a community. “Streaming on Twitch is about building a community, and building a community is about some level of consistency.” So there you have it, straight from the top. Follow these golden rules laid out by the Twitch CEO himself, and your odds of growing a stable audience should only improve.

Twitch CEO is “excited” for xQc following historic deal with rival platform Kick Instagram: xQcTwitch CEO Dan Clancy admits that he is “excited” for xQc following his recent deal with Kick while also explaining why he believes content creators should be able to stream across multiple platforms. When it comes to content creators and streaming platforms, the rivalry between YouTube and Twitch has long been a driving force between the two companies. With many popular streamers signed to exclusive deals with each outlet, the feud in maintaining the best streamers on their respective platforms has always been a talking point. However, up and coming streaming platform Kick has flipped this idea of exclusivity on its head, with the likes of Amouranth and now xQc both signing with the platform in non-exclusive capacities, still being allowed to stream elsewhere. In a recent interview with Jake Lucky, Twitch CEO Dan Clancy sat down to discuss all things Twitch and what the Kick deal with xQc means for the platform and the larger landscape of streaming as a whole.

Twitch CEO randomly appears on Kick stream in Las Vegas: “Uh oh” Kick: vinnybA Kick streamer randomly bumped into the CEO of Twitch in Las Vegas, breaking the “bad news” that he was live on the company’s rival platform. Twitch has been the leading live-streaming platform for years, having only recently faced a new wave of competition now that Kick has risen in popularity. In a previous interview with Dexerto, Twitch welcomed the rivalry. And now it seems the two platforms have been brought together closer than ever in a bizarre turn of events. In the midst of 2023’s TwitchCon in Las Vegas, the company’s very own CEO was spotted by an unsuspecting Kick streamer, resulting in a hilarious interaction. 22-year-old ‘vinnyb’ is a former Twitch partner who, like many users as of late, made the switch to Kick. However, he was live streaming in the streets of Las Vegas with a friend when he spotted Twitch CEO, Dan Clancy. Despite debating whether he should quickly switch to Twitch, Vinny ultimately ran out of time and approached Clancy while still streaming on Kick. “We’re live!” Vinny announced after high-fives were exchanged between the trio. Noticing the camera, Clancy asked viewers how they were doing before Vinny broke the “bad news”. “We’re live on Kick,” Vinny said. Taking the news in stride, Clancy responded; “Uh oh! Hey, that’s your choice. You know? Whatever you decide.” While Vinny seemed to “immediately regret” how he approached the situation, his viewers were far too preoccupied with how bizarre and unlikely the entire scenario was. “Is that the CEO?” one person questioned in the chat, seemingly not quite believing their eyes. Another pointed out how “nice” Clancy had been, with a third person exclaiming that the interaction was “Clip worthy”. Be sure to check out all the latest entertainment news on our page here.

Twitch CEO fears for streamers after ‘vague’ Article 13 is passed CEO of Twitch, Emmett Shear, believes that the new legislation in Europe could cause plenty of problems for streamers as its regulations are too messy. The new copyright directive was passed on Tuesday, March 26, despite fierce opposition from content creators on various platforms. As a result, Article 13 will now make websites liable for copyright infringement from their users, which could drastically affect the way streamers are able to broadcast their content. Shear has previously stated how that new directive could mean anything could now be deemed as copyright infringement if you cannot prove you own the rights, such as a poster in a background or a song playing while walking past a restaurant, which could lead to streams being taken down immediately. Shear also revealed in an interview with Fortune that he is unsure just how much the law will affect streamers as the policies are aren’t structured properly. “The legislation was drafted, in my opinion, quite poorly,” Shear said. “It’s totally unclear what we have to do to comply or not.” He stated that Twitch does not run into as many issues with copyright as other platforms, with popular games such as Apex Legends using influencers to promote themselves. However, given the uncertainty around the new directive, it is unknown whether this will be possible in the future. Despite fears from the community, Shear insisted that he would do all he can to ensure that streams aren’t unfairly blocked or removed from platform due to copyright infringements. “We’re going to be lobbying to make sure that” the law permits “fair use that enables people to experiment and try new things,” he said. With the directive not going into effect until 2021, Twitch have some time to make the necessary changes to safeguard their platform.

Twitch CEO gives advice on how to get someone to pee on you and viewers are grossed out Twitch: DJClancyTwitch CEO Dan Clancy was on stream with JoJoThaMoFo and imDontai giving advice on how to get someone to pee on you, and viewers are grossed out. Back in March, Twitch Co-Founder Emmett Shear stepped down from his position as CEO, passing the torch to then-president Dan Clancy. Dan has been quite hands-on with some of the platform’s biggest creators over the last year or so, and even streams on Twitch occasionally. A clip of the Twitch CEO giving advice on how to get someone to pee on you during Twitch streamer JoJoThaMoFo’s comedy show “Bad Advice” has gone viral on social media for all the wrong reasons. Twitch CEO pee advice grosses out viewers In the clip, JoJo asks for Dan Clancy’s advice about getting someone to pee on you, prompting the CEO to specify that it might be “good advice” depending on imDontai’s interests. “You gotta make it worse so that the compromise is just peeing on your leg,” he explained. “If you go for peeing in the mouth and she says absolutely not, you say ‘Well in that case, what about my leg?’” Although the clip was solely meant as a joke, viewers were left quite disgusted with the CEO’s comments. One viewer commented: “What the hell is going on here????” “With the way Twitch is going lately, sad to say I’m not surprised,” another user said. A third viewer replied: “Nah Twitch no way this guy is in charge.” Twitch streamer imDontai who was one of the guys in the stream replied: “We all a lil nasty.” While the stream initially took place in late May, the clip began going viral over a week later just as changes to Twitch’s Branded Content guidelines sparked backlash across the community.

Twitch CEO Emmett Shear resigns after 16 years at livestreaming site WikimediaThe CEO of Twitch, Emmett Shear, has announced that he is leaving the platform, marking the end of more than decade working with the now Amazon-owned livestreaming site. Outlined in a farewell post, Shear says his work with Twitch actually began in 2006, back before the site was even called Justin.tv. Citing the birth of his first child, Shear says the decision will allow him to focus on his family and tackle new challenges. However, while he is leaving his CEO position, Shear does plan to continue to work with Twitch in an “advisory role.” Replacing Shear will be Dan Clancy, the current Twitch President. “Dan Clancy, our current President, has been a close partner to me these past few years. He will step fully into the role of CEO, effective immediately,” Shear confirmed. “He cares deeply about the Twitch community, its streamers, and our staff and understands what makes Twitch, Twitch.” In his farewell blog post, the outgoing CEO concluded: “I have a deep sense of gratitude as well for all the streamers who trusted us early with their content and their communities, and all the streamers who have continued to do so to this day. “I know some of you may find it hard to believe, but supporting as many of you as well as possible is the number one goal for everyone at Twitch and always has been. I also want to thank Amazon for being the best acquirer I could have hoped for. Amazon truly supported us and really allowed a product as different as Twitch the room to grow and to be itself. “Thank you, everyone, for your support, your critical thoughts, your trust, and your help. We built something great.” Emmett Shear’s time as Twitch CEO Emmett has been the CEO of Twitch since 2011, a total of 11 and a half years. In that time, the site has grown exponentially, with now more than 8 million active streamers a month, and became a fully-owned subsidiary of Amazon in 2014, who paid $970 million for the company. While Twitch has enjoyed success, becoming the leading platform for video game livestreaming, it has faced increased competition in recent years, particularly from YouTube, Facebook Gaming, and most recently, Kick. Streamers have criticized Twitch for a lower subscription revenue split than these rivals, and some of the biggest names have left Twitch for these other platforms due to more lucrative deals being on offer. During Emmett’s time, one of the latest and most controversial announcements was that sub splits would remain at 50/50, much less than YouTube’s 70/30, despite calls from streamers to increase them. But Twitch also provides other ways for streamers to monetize their content, with a focus on ads primarily. Twitch’s ad incentive program has meant large earnings bumps for some streamers, provided they run a set number of ads each month. Under Emmett’s time as CEO, it is irrefutable that Twitch has enjoyed many successes, but his successor also faces many challenges, to compete with new rivals, and keep streamers on-side.

Twitch CEO explains why they’re done offering massive contracts to streamers Instagram: DJClancy999Twitch’s CEO Dan Clancy has explained why the Amazon-owned platform is done offering huge contracts to streamers. After already cutting roughly 400 jobs early last year, on January 9, 2024, Bloomberg reported that Twitch was set to lay off a further 35% of its current staff. A handful of the Amazon-owned platform’s employees were shown the door amid widespread layoffs which the company’s CEO Dan Clancy confirmed in a blog post. Just a few days later, Clancy went live on the platform to answer questions from the community, where he revealed that Twitch isn’t currently profitable. Not only that, he explained why Twitch is done offering massive contracts to the biggest creators on the site. Twitch will no longer sign streamers to massive contracts In the last half-decade, we’ve seen major strides from rivals such as YouTube, Facebook, Mixer, and more recently Kick, overtake Twitch’s spot in the streaming industry — spending millions signing streamers to multi-year contracts. While Twitch fought back and signed numerous top streamers to deals, it appears they’ll no longer be pulling out their checkbook. Speaking in a live Q&A on January 11, Clancy, who was appointed as Twitch’s CEO in early 2023 after company co-founder Emmett Shear stepped down, explained why the platform is no longer offering massive contracts. “I can tell you the cost of retaining those streamers would have been far more than the revenue generated,” he said. “That is something we’ve been very clear about, we don’t want to do that.” He added: “Because the only way to do that then is to have this unbalance where we make up for that on smaller streamers and we don’t want to do that.” Nevertheless, it’s not exactly surprising to hear given Twitch’s huge change in direction in October 2023. After years of locking creators to streaming just on their platform, the platform updated guidelines to remove rules prohibiting “multi-streams” that prohibited streamers from broadcasting to several sites at once.

Twitch CEO Dan Clancy finally makes Partner and writes a song about it Twitch: SpawnOnMeTwitch CEO Dan Clancy has finally received Partner status on the platform with his second try, and he says he even wrote a song about it to celebrate. It’s no secret that Twitch CEO Dan Clancy is an avid streamer on the Amazon-owned site. Often singing and playing songs on his broadcast, he’s also shocked viewers with his shower routine and more. On October 21, 2023, Clancy revealed that he had been denied Twitch Partner due to lack of viewership but was quick to reapply to the program. After receiving the email that he was accepted on November 9, 2023, Clancy revealed that he wrote a song about it. Twitch CEO writes song about getting Twitch Partner Revealed on his Twitter/X account in the early morning, Dan Clancy shared his thoughts alongside a screenshot of the Twitch Partner email. “Excited to announce that I finally made. Got my email today that I was accepted into the Partner Program. Looking forward to being able to get into the Lounge at TwitchCon EU,” he said. He also revealed that he wrote a song about his acceptance, but those interested won’t be able to hear it until his next stream. Followers of the Twitch CEO were quick to congratulate him on his accomplishment in the replies to his tweet. “Love what you’re doing,” one user replied. Another commenter joked: “Great to see small creators finally have the come ups! Good job.” “Congrats on making Partner! The real work starts now!” another fan said. For more Twitch news and other viral entertainment stories, keep it locked to Dexerto.

Twitch CEO Dan Clancy casts doubt on future of Prime subs TwitchTwitch CEO Dan Clancy has cast quite a bit of doubt on the future of the popular Prime Sub feature in a cryptic answer during his recent livestream. Just one day after Twitch CEO Dan Clancy revealed widespread layoffs at the Amazon-owned company, he went live on the platform to answer questions from the community. Clancy revealed that Twitch isn’t currently profitable, which raised questions about the future of the ever-popular Prime sub that gives Amazon Prime subscribers the ability to support one of their favorite creators for free each month. When asked about it, the CEO’s answer cast quite a bit of doubt on the feature’s future. Dan Clancy casts doubt on Twitch Prime sub future During the stream, Twitch streamer Lowco shared a clip of Dan Clancy responding to a question about the future of Prime subs. “Prime is a critical program for many streamers,” he said. “We’ve already been looking across the company on how to set us up for the long term. We’ll continue to evolve aspects of our program… “It’s important for us to make sure Prime still exists in some way.” With the newfound knowledge that Twitch isn’t profitable as a company, it left many wondering if the program is going to be changed or even removed in the near future. One user replied: “That Prime subsidizing has to be a huge number for them. I’d imagine it gets rolled up in their P&L and is a meaningful loss in their attempt to profitability. It’s a hard thing to justify permanently, and if it’s really driving incremental adoption or retention to Amazon Prime.” “my guess is Prime Subs either go away entirely or they’ll pay out significantly less than a T1 sub will,” another replied. A third user speculated: “Prime subs will be gone within the next year or so at most.”

Twitch CEO Dan Clancy confirms widespread staff layoffs TwitchTwitch CEO Dan Clancy has confirmed that the company is laying off over 500 employees, explaining the reason in a blog post. On January 9, 2024, rumors began to swirl after Bloomberg reported that Amazon’s Twitch was set to lay off a large handful of its current staff — about 35% of current employees. The news came almost a year after the company laid off 400 of its staff in 2023, and now it’s been confirmed by the company’s CEO. In a blog post, Twitch CEO Dan Clancy confirmed the layoffs and shared the email sent to staff. Twitch CEO confirms massive staff layoffs across company On January 10, 2024, Dan Clancy posted the blog post as a note to the community revealing that the reported layoffs are happening. “I wanted to send a short note to let you know that we’ve made the difficult decision to reduce the size of our workforce today. At this point in time, we are focused on communicating with our employees and providing them with clarity on how this impacts each of them,” he said. “I’m sharing a copy of the email that I sent out to the company this morning to provide more context on the decision… I know that you will have additional questions about how this might impact the community, and I’ll host a stream on /Twitch on Thursday, January 11 at 1 pm PT to speak with all of you.” In the email sent to staff, Clancy reveals that just over 500 people will be laid off in the coming days due to the organization being larger than it needs to be. “So while the Twitch business remains strong, for some time now the organization has been sized based upon where we optimistically expect our business to be in 3 or more years, not where we’re at today,” Clancy explained. “As with many other companies in the tech space, we are now sizing our organization based upon the current scale of our business and conservative predictions of how we expect to grow in the future.” The Twitch CEO said that he will immediately begin sending out emails to those affected by the layoffs and revealed that they’ll receive news about their severance packages in the coming days. For more news and other viral stories, keep it locked to Dexerto.

Twitch called on to ban channel of cat breeder accused of animal abuse WikimediaTwitch channel Adorable_Kittens, which broadcasts livestreams of cats, has faced criticism on social media and calls for the platform to ban the account, after a lawsuit was filed against the cattery alleging “animal cruelty and selling sick kittens.” A cattery from Florida called ‘Adorable Kittens’, which breeds and sells Scottish Fold and British Kittens, streams the animals playing, feeding and sleeping on their Twitch channel. In October 2020, Twitch streamer Destiny claimed that another streamer, Alisha12287, was banned because “[Adorable Kittens] lawyer sent Twitch a letter and got her banned. That’s why her stream is banned right now.” Alisha said that Twitch did not give a specific reason for her ban, but said she was emailed by a “specific business,” who “boasted” about the fact that they were the reason for her ban and claimed they had used an attorney to “shut her up.” The channel, previously named adorablestars, changed names to ‘Adorable_Kittens’. It currently has over 116,000 followers, and is a partnered account. On May 3, Twitch streamer Yabbe appealed to Twitch to “Please look into the evidence provided and stop allowing a dangerous kittymill to advertise freely on your site.” @twitch @TwitchSupport you ban and suspend people for human abuse and abuse allegations, why is this different? Please look into the evidence provided and stop allowing a dangerous kittymill to advertise freely on your site. — Yabbe (@ImYabbe) May 4, 2021 Yabbe linked to a February press release from Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), confirming that it had “filed a lawsuit against Orlando-based kitten breeder and seller, Adorable Stars, on behalf of three individuals who purchased kittens from the breeder. “The plaintiffs bring contract and tort claims and allege defendants are engaged in animal cruelty and neglect, as well as the unlawful practice of veterinary medicine without a license.” Alongside numerous images of allegedly sick and mistreated cats and kittens, the press release states “Kittens sold by Adorable Stars have been found covered in ringworm, fleas, and parasites while also suffering from upper respiratory infections and feline panleukopenia, among other ailments.” On the Adorable Kittens website FAQ, it says “All kittens will leave with a Health Certificate. With the health certificate that kittens has been checked by a vet, had their vaccine done, testings with negative results to be healthy for new home.” The website also displays a copy of an ‘Outstanding Cattery Certificate’ from TICA (The International Cat Association), following an inspection by licensed veterinarian Pedro Santiago, DVM, on September 24, 2020. However, a customer, who claims to have bought a cat from the breeder that later died, found an arrest record, showing charges for forging a veterinary certificate. The arrest took place in 2018. Twitch has not responded to the calls on social media to reconsider their partnership with the channel. Twitch does not comment on community guideline violations to respect the privacy of users.

Twitch CEO announces 3 key focuses for the platform in 2024 TwitchTwitch’s Chief Executive Officer recently fielded questions from the community during a livestream. In the Q&A, he outlined three major areas of improvement that Twitch would focus on in 2024. Twitch CEO Dan Clancy hosted a live stream Q&A via the company’s channel on January 11 following a round of layoffs to begin 2024. In the stream, Clancy addressed the layoffs and revealed the platform wasn’t “profitable”. Clancy also discussed a potential change in the recent “artistic nudity” policies that took the internet by storm. When questioned about improvements to the platform, the Twitch CEO highlighted three core areas that the company would target in 2024. Firstly, Clancy reiterated a commitment to enhanced broadcasting that was touched on during TwitchCon 2023. The other two areas the company is concerned with are the improvement of the Twitch mobile app and collaboration both internally and externally. When discussing proposed changes to the mobile app, the vision Clancy had felt remarkably similar to TikTok. “We’re building a responsive and immersive feed (so) that when you land on the mobile app, you’ll land in live content,” he revealed. The aim is to cater to the way that Twitch mobile is used in short bursts when viewers have the opportunity. “We think improving the mobile app will help shorter, more frequent mobile sessions which will keep people attached to their communities,” he explained. Regarding collaboration, Clancy said that Twitch was at work on “a tool that can help people collaborate” on the platform. This is apparently in an effort to aid streamers in growing their channel which is why externally collaborative features are also being prioritised. “Another thing that we’re working on … is helping you more easily create content from your live streams to share on other third-party platforms,” he said. “We have the clips editor, we want to make that better so it’s easier for you to take things and export.” Twitch already has a partnership with TikTok to facilitate integration between the two platforms. Clancy explained that the new work aims to do something similar with other popular social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. These proposed changes are sure to help the company compete in the live streaming space with competitors like Kick, which recently made light of Twitch’s decision to lay off over 500 employees.

Twitch bots are still making tiny channels the most-followed streamers Twitch: Kaisa/TwitchTwitch follower botters have been up to their old tricks, turning some of the smallest streamers on the platform into the most-followed channels of the last few weeks. Building up a steady following is a challenge for pretty much every Twitch streamer. Some can get a helping hand if they’ve got a following elsewhere, or get a boost. There are plenty of overnight successes on Twitch – be it because a bigger streamer shouted them out, they were featured on the homepage, or they’ve got an incredible niche that works well. However, botting is becoming more and more of a major issue. For whatever reason, be it to get someone in trouble or to just troll, a number of Twitch users can see their follower numbers spike into the millions, even if they’re just streaming to 10 or 20 viewers. In the past, these bot numbers have propelled some channels into Twitch’s top 20 most-followed channels of all-time, leaving everyone confused. However, while channels aren’t getting hit with five or seven million botted followers anymore, it’s still happening. So much so that in the last few weeks, quite a few small channels have become some of the fast-growing channels on Twitch. That includes channels like Ezzi, Vision2KZN, and Kaisa who have streamed to an average of 40, 6, and 83 viewers respectively. But, they’ve ‘gained’ around 3 million followers each in the past 30 days. Even G2’s HeelMike, who has been botted before, has suffered another artificial boost in followers – being given close to 2.3 million botted followers. HeelMike has had fun with the botting before, as has LosPollosTV – who was botted with almost 2.4 million additional followers in the last month. With the exception of nmplol, nine of the top ten “fastest-growing channels” on Twitch are because of follow bots. Twitch has, and will, remove the botted followers at times, but it’s still a pretty major issue. It takes one wrong step and someone can be banned for something that’s out of their hands. it also ruins the ability to keep on track of which streamers are actually growing naturally, which is often a way for viewers to find new streamers to watch. These bot follower attacks could be making it harder for streamers to grow as they deserve to. Whether or not the streaming platform clamps down on it moving forward is unknown, but it was a persistent problem throughout 2020, and is showing no signs of stopping in the new year.

Twitch branded content guidelines spark controversy: Changes explained, streamer backlash, more TwitchTwitch just revealed its plans to implement new branded content guidelines. However, this news hasn’t gone down well in the streaming community. From a breakdown of the proposed changes to a recap of the backlash, here’s everything you need to get caught up. Sponsored streams are a key source of revenue when it comes to content creation. Whether it’s a budding streamer looking to carve out a living or an established partner raking in the big bucks, outside of donations and subscriptions, sponsors are perhaps the biggest source of income. Thus, when changes are announced for said sponsored streams, the impact is far-reaching across the entire platform. Those ripples were felt on June 6 when Twitch detailed its latest adjustments for what constitutes viable branded content. Sweeping policy changes and new restrictions alike led to a colossal wave of backwash mere hours after news hit the web. So if you’re looking to get caught up on not only the new rules but the surrounding controversy too, we’ve got you covered with a full rundown below. Contents Twitch’s branded content guidelines explained – Ramifications of new branded content guidelines on Twitch – Twitch streamers protest new changes – Twitch apologizes amid wave of backlash – Twitch backflips & scraps new branded content guidelines – Twitch’s new branded content guidelines explained As defined by Twitch itself, branded content relates to “any content produced by streamers featuring products or services based on an exchange of value.” In layman’s terms, any streamers being paid to promote something fall under this umbrella. Whether it’s playing a newly released video game as part of a deal, drinking a sponsored energy drink on stream, or advertising a clothing line, for instance, it’s all branded content at the end of the day. However, it’s crucial to note that Twitch, the Amazon-owned streaming platform, holds the cards. “We recognize that streamers want to collaborate with brands, but as outlined in the Terms of Service, we maintain the exclusive right to sell, serve, and display advertisements on the Twitch Services,” a chunk of the new policy states. As a result, Twitch is looking to clamp down on how this branded content is presented on the platform. Namely, through new restrictions, certain types of branded content is no longer allowed, while new guidelines enforce a stricter appearance for permitted content of this nature. What is allowed under new branded content guidelines on Twitch Products and services deemed unharmful are still permitted for sponsored streams on Twitch. However, the means in which content creators can integrate them are changing. Here’s a look at what’s still allowed on Twitch when it comes to branded content: Branded panels on your Channel Page – Showcasing products in your stream background – Including links (in your chat) to other sites that promote things – Discussing, endorsing, or unboxing products or services – Playing sponsored games – What isn’t allowed under new branded content guidelines on Twitch Moving forward, should these new guidelines remain intact, streamers will no longer be permitted the freedoms they once were when it comes to branded content. From specifics like the exact size of sponsored logos on streams, to broader restrictions like banner ads or pre-recorded video ads now banned on Twitch, there’s plenty to wrap your head around. Here’s a look at what’s no longer allowed on Twitch in light of its new branded content guidelines: Logos on stream: On-stream brand overlays are limited to 3% of screen size – Inserted ‘burned in’ video ads: Streamers may not insert video ads directly into their streams – Inserted ‘burned in’ display ads: Streamers may not insert display or ‘banner’ ads directly into their streams – Inserted ‘burned in’ audio ads: Streamers may not insert audio ads directly into their streams – Furthermore, certain types of branded content is also restricted under the new guidelines. As you would expect, anything outright illegal, hateful, or deemed as malicious, can’t be promoted on Twitch. This also extends to the likes of political content, adult-oriented products or services, and even financial products and services too. If streamers are uncertain on whether a proposed brand deal aligns with these new restrictions, Twitch encourages them to check the Branded Content Discloser Tool in the Stream Manager. Ramifications of new branded content guidelines on Twitch Given the significance of these new guidelines, the impact can be felt by content creators at all levels. For the average streamer on Twitch, perhaps the most important aspect here is the new on-stream limitations. No longer can a typical Twitch streamer accept an ordinary brand deal with the usual slate of on-stream assets. With burned in videos and even banners now barred from the platform, all that can be featured is a simple logo to promote the sponsor. Yet even that logo is now restricted and can’t exceed 3% of your total screen size. In particular, these guidelines could severely impact charitable streams. In the past, charity-driven content often features key advertising marks on stream. Whether it’s banners updating fans on total donations or even full-screen promotions at certain intervals, charity streams often rely on these measures to convey key information to the audience. Similarly, Twitch’s new guidelines also impose major restrictions on esports broadcasts. Given esports is still a completely free-to-watch form of entertainment, publishers and event organizers typically rely on sponsor revenue to stay afloat. That can appear in the form of video ads, audio ad reads on air, and of course, branded logos across the board. Exactly how esports organizations can expect to turn a profit under these restrictions is yet unclear. From another angle, the branded content guidelines also impact disabled streamers. One key example raised by blind content creator Steve Saylor relates to the new logo sizing parameters. “The 3% logo size rule isn’t accessible for low vision users as it is too small for overlays and even smaller on mobile,” they explained. Twitch streamers protest branded content guidelines As you would have likely put together by now, Twitch’s newly revealed guidelines haven’t exactly been met with much fanfare. Quite the opposite as countless Twitch streamers have lashed out at the proposed changes, with some even threatening to leave the platform altogether. Among the first to protest was Twitch superstar Asmongold. As one of the biggest personalities on the site today, he spoke out against the new policies and even pushed for other streamers to “consider boycotting Twitch or moving to other platforms. “Making common and harmless forms of advertisement literally against Terms of Service so Twitch can monopolize more of streamers’ income.” Given Asmon is a co-founder of streaming group OTK, it was only right the mega-popular team followed suit with its own response next. In a lengthy “message to Twitch” hours after news broke, OTK fought back against the platform’s “anti-creator” policies. “Small streamers who rely on their once-a-month Hello Fresh sponsorship cannot pay their bills under these new guidelines,” the statement put bluntly. Furthermore, fellow co-founder Tips Out shared his own statement on Twitter, adding that if Twitch follows through with its proposed changes, “OTK network will be leaving Twitch. This is a direct attack on our business, staff, and all of the hard work we have put into our organization.” It wasn’t long before more content creators joined the conversation, with former Twitch icon turned YouTube-exclusive streamer Ludwig chiming in next. “Twitch suffers from having no relationship built with their viewers/streamers,” he claimed. “It’s always a carefully crafted impersonal article. And based on all their recent actions, viewers have no choice but to interpret everything in the least charitable way.” MoistCr1tikal then followed up with harsh words of his own, arguing that Twitch is “completely lost as a platform,” even going on to bash the “geriatric policy decision.” The overwhelming backlash even caught the attention of MrBeast. “I’m not even a Twitch streamer and now I want to stream on a competitor just to spite them for you guys,” he said. “If YouTube pulled this sh*t, I’d lose my mind.” Twitch apologizes amid backlash to new guidelines Given the all but unanimous uproar, Twitch eventually issued a brief apology on Twitter. Hours after the branded content guidelines were made clear, the platform claimed its proposed changes were “overly broad. “This created confusion and frustration, and we apologize for that. We do not intend to limit streamers’ ability to enter into direct relationships with sponsors, and we understand that this is an important part of how streamers earn revenue. “We missed the mark with the policy language and will rewrite the guidelines to be clearer. Thank you for sharing your concerns, and we appreciate the feedback. We’ll notify the community once we have updated the language.” Twitch backflips & scraps new branded content guidelines Just one day after the new branded content guidelines were made clear, Twitch relented under the pressure. All proposed changes have since been scrapped, with Twitch again apologizing for its actions and ensuring things will remain as they were before. “Yesterday, we released new branded content guidelines that impacted your ability to work with sponsors to increase your income from streaming. These guidelines are bad for you and bad for Twitch, and we are removing them immediately.” A definitive statement, Twitch acknowledged the harm of its planned changes and went back on its word. Now, moving forward, streamers can continue to engage with sponsors and advertise various products and services as they did previously, without any new restrictions in place.

Twitch boss explains why they can’t offer 70/30 sub-revenue split Unsplash: Caspar Camille RubinIn a recent interview, Twitch VP of monetization Mike Minton explained why they can’t offer streamers the 70/30 sub-revenue split that everyone has been asking for. Back on September 21, Twitch published a blog post detailing that they would not offer the highly sought-after 70/30 sub-revenue split due to the “high costs” of running the platform. This quickly caused backlash from creators on the platform, with many taking to Twitch’s UserVoice forum to share their thoughts. The Washington Post interviewed Twitch’s VP of monetization Mike Minton, who gave more detail as to why they can’t offer the higher revenue option. Twitch boss explains why 70/30 won’t happen Minton shared more detail on the larger things preventing the company from providing a larger revenue cut. “It’s more about the other streamers that now feel like they have loss of something they can no longer attain. That leads to the question of, why not just give 70/30 to everybody, right,” Mike said. “We absolutely looked at all options to do that. What it comes down to is, those options were not viable for us as a long-term business.” Another major talking point surrounding the decision to not offer the 70/30 revenue share is the fact that Twitch is owned by Amazon, which brought it nearly 600 billion dollars in revenue last year. According to Minton, it’s not quite that easy: “The reality is, as an Amazon-owned company, we have the same expectation as the rest of the Amazon ecosystem: we’re a sustainable, viable long-term business.” Not to mention, Amazon does invest in Twitch quite a bit by offering users of the platform one free subscription a month, which is bundled into its variety of Prime offerings for the e-commerce site. It’s unknown if Twitch would ever reconsider its decision surrounding the sub-revenue split, but we’ll be sure to let you know if they do. In the meantime, head over to check out other entertainment news.

Twitch blasted for “ridiculous” removal of classic FaZe Kalei stream emote Twitch: KaleiFaZe Clan streamer Kalei Renay has joked that she “hates the internet” after streaming platform Twitch removed one of her stream’s emotes, with fans echoing the criticism of the Amazon-owned company. Emotes form a big part of Twitch streams and their respective identities, with prominent creators boasting unique emotes so a host of streaming moments can be responded to accordingly by viewers. FaZe Kalei’s streams are no different, with the 22-year-old’s thousands of subscribers indulging in her channel-specific emotes whenever the mood takes them. FaZe Kalei sees ‘KaleiL’ emote removed from stream by Twitch However, following Twitch-instigated changes on July 30, Kalei saw a long-term emote, the ‘KaleiL’, removed from her stream. The emote, which features a teddy bear forming the classic ‘L’ pose on its forehead, is reminiscent of Fortnite’s infamous ‘Take the L’ dance and has been used by viewers for some time in chat, often in response to a low moment where things haven’t gone to plan. However, it has now been removed by Twitch. In a July 30 tweet stating she “hates the internet”, Kalei revealed the communication she received from the platform to confirm its removal. The message reads: “Based on a review of its content, we have removed your emote ‘KaleiL’ from Twitch. Reason: Disallowed Content – Targeted insults, bullying and threatening or inciting abuse.” They did not divulge further but linked to their ‘Subscriber Emote Guide‘, which outlines that any emotes deemed to contradict community guidelines will be removed. Responses to Kalei’s tweet were largely critical, with many questioning how a light-hearted emote could constitute disallowed content. One said: “That’s absolutely ridiculous. Think about how many millions of times people have typed “L” in chat. I guess they’re violating TOS, too.” A host of prominent content creators also replied to question Twitch’s move, including ZLaner and AverageJonas. A fellow Twitch streamer, ‘ThatOneBritt‘, replied to say that their ‘L’ emote had recently been removed too. It could well be that a change behind the scenes at Twitch is prompting a stronger stance on ‘L’ emotes across the entire platform, rather than being linked specifically to its use on Kalei’s channel. Twitch have not commented beyond their communication to Kalei and likely won’t given they don’t comment publicly on strikes and punishment.

Twitch bodypainter gets unbanned after criticizing platform Instagram: Forkgirl/TwitchForkgirl, the bodypainting streamer who received an indefinite ban from Twitch, has called on her fellow broadcasters to “keep holding Twitch accountable” after she finally had her suspension lifted. On February 18, Forkgirl claimed that she had received a “wrongful” ban from Twitch after being handed an indefinite suspension for showcasing “nudity” on a stream. The bodypainting broadcaster, who has amassed close to 10,000 followers on the platform, compared the look that she had received the suspension for against something similar that was fine. As fans couldn’t quite believe it, she took aim at the platform and mocked their “please watch us closely and hold us accountable” tweet, by asking them to review the suspension. After a campaign of support from her fans, fellow streamers, and others, Forkgirl revealed on February 21 that her suspension had been reviewed by Twitch and they had decided to overturn the ban. The streamer tweeted out the response she had received from Twitch regarding her appeal, as they stated that bodypainting is allowed on the platform, but she had violated the requirement to fully cover the chest. Twitch claimed that they had recognized that a “good faith attempt was made to comply” with the rules and, therefore, they had overturned the ban. My Twitch channel has OFFICIALLY been reinstated!!!! 😭😭😭😭 Thank you to everyone for all of your support this past week!!! ❤️ I can’t even express in words how blown away I was by the kindness you showed me, and it meant the world to me ❤️ All the signal boosts, hashtags, 1/3 pic.twitter.com/35go8CvOrW — forkgirl (@ForkgirlCosplay) February 22, 2020 However, despite thanking them for their change of heart and thanking everyone for their backing, Forkgirl noted that streamers have to keep Twitch on their toes. “I really appreciate Twitch making this right, but this wasn’t just about me, and we need to keep holding Twitch accountable,” she tweeted before dropping a follow-up. “We are STILL asking for clearer guidelines and a proper policy on what is and isn’t okay on your platform, because this could still happen to ANYONE!” We are STILL asking for clearer guidelines and a proper policy on what is and isn’t okay on your platform, because this could still happen to ANYONE! @Twitch @TwitchSupport 3/3 — forkgirl (@ForkgirlCosplay) February 22, 2020 Twitch has an extensive list of rules and has, in the past, attempted to clear up any grey areas that might surround categories like Just Chatting and bodypainting. However, it is clear from Forkgirl’s case that they still have some way to go in further clearing those areas up. Whether they do so, though, still remains to be seen.

Twitch befriends TikTok with new feature to seamlessly clip your streams TikTok / TwitchTwitch is introducing a new feature that allows streamers to seamlessly clip their broadcasts and upload highlights straight to TikTok. If there is one way to get your Twitch channel in front of a bigger audience, it’s through TikTok. This is why so many streamers, from the largest like Mizkif and Kai Cenat to budding personalities all the same, tend to upload clips on TikTok. However, having to edit a stream clip in a landscape format, morphing it into an appropriately vertical video is quite the task, especially if you have a webcam you want to include as well. This is why Twitch has seen fit to bring out a new feature that allows streamers to seamlessly share clips directly on TikTok, all converted into vertical format for your convenience. Initially revealed earlier in May this year, Twitch is now beginning to roll out the ability to share the clips onto Tiktok as well, starting with access for select streamers. In previous iterations, streamers could only ever share their clips to either YouTube Shorts or other social media sites. This is now a first with TikTok in mind. Previously, streamers had to download their vertical clips and directly upload them into TikTok after some editing work. But now, streamers can not only upload their best moments, but they can also set other post settings such as allowing comments, duets, and stitching, all without leaving Twitch. The clips editor which was rolled out in May allows streamers to convert their clips into vertical videos, but also allows them to easily edit their webcam into the clip without much editing experience required. As TikTok grows larger and larger, it’s no surprise many Twitch streamers want to put their content on the platform, and the new feature helps them do just that.

Twitch begins banning streamers accused of sexual harassment TwitchTwitch has started cracking down on users accused of sexual harassment on their platform, permanently banning streamers in “the most severe cases” and removing global emotes. They are also changing their policies regarding hateful conduct. Dozens of Twitch streamers have been accused of sexually harassing and abusing other members of the gaming community over the last week. This includes Destiny streamer ‘SayNoToRage’ and Tom ‘Syndicate’ Cassell. On June 21, the platform issued a statement saying they were working towards making the platform “safer for everyone.” A few days later, they are following through with their promise. Starting on June 24, Twitch has permanently banned a number of streamers in relation to breaking the platform’s Hateful Conduct policy. This includes Australian streamer Brad ‘BlessRNG’ Jolly, the namesake of the global emote. The emote has also been removed. ❌ Twitch Partner “”BlessRNG”” has been banned! ❌https://t.co/HIPsx9KOfP#twitch #ban #firstban #partner #twitchpartner 👩🏼⚖️ — StreamerBans (@StreamerBans) June 25, 2020 “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,” Twitch said in a statement. “We’ve prioritized the most severe cases and will begin issuing permanent suspensions in line with our findings immediately.” They are also looking at updating their Hateful Conduct policies to better protect streamers and viewers while using Twitch. While the majority of accusations have been tied to incidents off platform, Twitch has noted they hold a duty to their community to take action. An update on our investigations into the recent allegations of sexual abuse and harassment involving Twitch streamers and actions we’re taking. https://t.co/OLJzU9LEVU — Twitch (@Twitch) June 25, 2020 “We have work underway including 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.” “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.” A full list of banned users can be found below. We will update this as more information arises: BlessRNG – DreadedCone – IAmSp00n – WarwitchTV – Wolv21 – This first ban wave is only the beginning of Twitch’s crackdown of harassment on the platform. In the coming days, weeks, and months, more streamers will be issued permanent suspensions.

Twitch bans with “no reason” could be made unlawful by court TwitchA California court will rule on Twitch’s ban policy, as Twitch could be forced to more clearly define its reasons for suspensions for streamers. Stemming from a lawsuit filed against Twitch by streamer James ‘PhantomL0rd’ Vargas, he has now filed a request to a court in California to enforce Twitch to change how it hands out bans. PhantomL0rd won the initial court case, netting him $20,000 in the process, but he and his lawyers are pushing the case forward demanding Twitch make changes to its policies regarding how it handles its partnered streamers particularly. The streaming platform has been criticized for some of its bans, both for inconsistency and lack of clarity. Phantoml0rd has claimed that Twitch has a secret “strike guide” for deciding bans. Judge will rule on the future of how Twitch disciplines/bans streamers: Read: https://t.co/p5Lck8J8Nh — PhantomL0rd (@PhantomL0rd) July 2, 2021 The most important request from PhantomL0rd’s lawyers is that “Twitch cannot permanently or indefinitely suspend partners without providing notice of the reason for the suspension and an opportunity to cure the alleged wrongdoing.” The judge’s ruling on this request could change how the biggest streaming website on the internet conducts its business. The full list of seven requests made by Phantoml0rd’s team: Twitch must lift the suspension of Varga’s Twitch account at www.twitch.tv/phantoml0rd. – Twitch must develop and make available to partners a written policy regulating its discipline of partners. The policy must include rules governing (a) when and how account managers notify partners of rule violations, and (b) what criteria or context Twitch uses to determine when to permanently or indefinitely suspend partners, including mitigating factors. – Twitch cannot send notices of permanent or indefinite suspensions to partners that list the reason for the suspension as “Other Terms of Service Violation,” or other similar language that does not adequately convey the reason that Twitch suspended the partner. Twitch must include the text of the applicable rule and/or strike guide entry for each such notice. – Twitch cannot permanently or indefinitely suspend partners without providing notice of the reason for the suspension and an opportunity to cure the alleged wrongdoing. – Twitch cannot permanently or indefinitely suspend partners for any reason not listed in the partner’s partnership agreement. – Twitch must cease enforcing the $50,000 limitation on liability included in Section 8.4 of Varga’s Partnership Agreement, to the extent this limitation on liability exists in other partnership agreements. – Twitch must require that partners scroll through any amendment(s) or modification(s) to its Terms of Service and click a button affirming that they have read the amendment(s) or modification(s) and agree to them before the partners may use the Twitch service. – Changing Twitch forever If Twitch were forced to give a more publicly detailed guideline for what type of behavior it will ban an account for, it could be a huge win for streamers who claim they’ve been banned for vague reasons, or no reason at all. The most infamous Twitch ban is Dr Direspect, whose reason for being banned was never publicly revealed. The Doc himself maintains he also does not know the reason. If the court rules in favor of PhantomL0rd’s request, it could reopen cases for streamers who had previously been banned. It is also possible that Dr Disrepect could return to the platform, or at the very least bring some public clarity to the situation. For streamers on the platform now, it could ensure that they cannot be given unclear reasons for bans, such as “Other TOS violations”.

Twitch battles fake Elon Musk streams again with scam bitcoin giveaways YouTube: TeslaScam Twitch streams pretending to be Elon Musk are taking over the website’s Just Chatting category, advertising bitcoin giveaways using clips featuring the Tesla founder’s previous comments about the popular cryptocurrency. As various cryptocurrency continues to gain popularity, ill-intended users of the blockchain advertise false giveaways of the most popular token. Sometimes, these users can gain access to the winner’s wallet to drain any valuable assets. In November 2020, Bitcoin ‘giveaway’ streams began rapidly popping up on Twitch, using old Elon Musk clips and botted viewers to move to the top of the Just Chatting category. The platform quickly banned the streams, but they would almost instantly show back up with another account. Now, those fake Twitch streams are back — amassing over 10 thousand viewers before quickly getting banned. Scam Elon Musk bitcoin giveaways take over Twitch Thanks to the account using thousands of botted viewers to move to the top of the category, these accounts quickly caught the attention of real viewers who wanted to see what was going on. On April 13, Twitch acted quickly after reports of the botted accounts came to light by banning them. However, new accounts were created and quickly moved to the top of the “Just Chatting” directory. The channel names were simply ‘elon_musk’ with a series of random numbers attached to the end. Luckily, it appears that the botted accounts have disappeared — at least for now. editors.dexerto.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/13/ElonMuskCryptoTwitchStreams.jpg 668w, https://editors.dexerto.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/13/ElonMuskCryptoTwitchStreams-300×117.jpg 300w, https://editors.dexerto.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/13/ElonMuskCryptoTwitchStreams-175×68.jpg 175w, https://editors.dexerto.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/13/ElonMuskCryptoTwitchStreams-630×245.jpg 630w, https://editors.dexerto.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/13/ElonMuskCryptoTwitchStreams-479×186.jpg 479w, https://editors.dexerto.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/13/ElonMuskCryptoTwitchStreams-150×58.jpg 150w”” sizes=””(max-width: 668px) 100vw, 668px”” /> It’s important to note that at the time of writing, Elon Musk does not have a Twitch account of his own. If he were to create one, it would likely adorn the platforms coveted partner checkmark beside his name. As a prolific name in the cryptocurrency scene and one of the richest men in the world, this is not the first time the Tesla founder’s likeness has been used with fake giveaways. In July 2020, Musk, MrBeast, and other high-profile names’ Twitter accounts were hacked, and the hackers used their accounts to run fake crypto giveaways.

Twitch bans VTuber Projekt Melody in bizarre twist Projekt MelodyIn one of the most confusing stories in the history of Twitch partnerships, the VTuber Projekt Melody has been banned and unpartnered from the platform, less than a year after it was surprisingly partnered in the first place. Back in March 2020, Projekt Melody came over to Twitch – bringing with her a brand of suggestive and innuendo-filled content. The nature and contents of the streams were obvious to anyone, and so when the channel became a partnered before even doing a single stream, it was thought a deal had been struck with the platform. Projekt Melody then grew a substantial following on Twitch, thanks in part to hosts from established broadcasters, including Sodapoppin, one of the most-followed streamers. Projekt Melody banned from Twitch The account had accrued almost 300,000 followers, and was ranked in the top 50 most-watched English-speaking ‘Just Chatting’ channels on the platform, according to Twitch Metrics. But, the account was inexplicably banned on November 4, and its partnership status revoked. The latter often indicates that the ban is indefinite, though this cannot be confirmed at the time of writing. ℹ️ Twitch Streamer “”projektmelody”” is no longer partnered with Twitch! ℹ️https://t.co/L5uCYOAYci#twitch #unpartner 😌 — StreamerBans (@StreamerBans) November 4, 2020 But, there’s another twist. This is not actually the account’s first suspension. It was previously banned for three days in March – the day after it was partnered. During her very first stream on the platform – during which she gained over 50,000 followers – and said “I want to be respectful of the platform, while also feeling sexy.” But, the decision to partner this channel before it had even done a single stream was an odd choice from Twitch at the time, given the nature of Projekt Melody’s content – and the other sites where you might typically find it streaming. These ‘virtual influencers’ have been increasing in popularity in 2020, particularly due to the global health crisis. Others include League of Legends’ Seraphine, and this totally virtual Instagram influencer, Imma. The length or reason for Projekt Melody’s ban is currently unknown. Twitch does not comment on community guidelines violations to respect the privacy of users – even virtual ones.

Twitch bans streamer’s adorable hippo emote for ‘sexual’ content Twitch/ScummNTwitch is under fire for banning a Warzone streamer’s hippo emote for sexual content, much to the chagrin of his fans. Emotes are a major part of Twitch culture with streamers creating their own for viewers to gain access to by subscribing. Sadly, in recent months, some have been disallowed for some strange reasons. For instance, in July, the Amazon-owned platform pulled ConnorEatsPants’ dancing money emote for sexual content, sparking plenty of debate over its removal. Now, on August 8, Warzone streamer ScummN’s emote of a hippo with its back turned to look at the camera was removed for containing sexual imagery – something that confused the streamer and his fans. Warzone streamer baffled after Twitch bans hippo emote In a screenshot, ScummN shared an email from Twitch claiming his scummnSUSSY emote contained nudity and sexual content. His fans did not take too kindly to the decision. “They took away the best emote on Twitch,” one remarked. “Week ruined because of this,” said another. Some viewers even claimed they were unsubbing because they wouldn’t be able to use the emote anymore. It’s not clear exactly why Twitch viewed the emote in a sexual light and decided to ban it, but given the site doesn’t comment on individual bans or channels, it’s unlikely we’re going to find out any time soon. ScummN didn’t say whether or not he plans to appeal the decision or remake the emote in a slightly different way, but it will be interesting to see how the streamer deals with this situation so his fans can get back to using it or something similar on Twitch.

Twitch bans verified “DaBaby” channel trolling Pokimane, Hasan & Ninja Instagram:dababy/TwitchThe partnered ‘DaBaby’ Twitch account that has trolled numerous top streamers while posing as the famous rapper has been banned on the platform. DaBaby has become one of the top artists in the game in recent years, with his famous “Let’s go!” catchphrase becoming hugely popular and the inspiration behind many a meme online. So, in true internet fashion, someone made a channel simply called ‘DaBaby,’ and decided to pay visits to the top names on the platform — even getting verified in the process. Whether it’s the real DaBaby or not (hint: it probably isn’t), Twitch has taken action against the account and banned it from the platform. DaBaby Twitch ban On May 19, it was discovered that the DaBaby Twitch channel had been banned, though it’s not quite clear why exactly this has happened. The real DaBaby hasn’t commented on the matter and, without any public comment from the channel, it’s hard to know what went wrong. Was it really DaBaby? This is the biggest question most streamers and community members have had, and while it’s been somewhat up in the air, the verified tick he possessed as a partnered member definitely made some fans assume it was real. On the other hand, though, looking through different chat logs shows that DaBaby once went by the name ‘UseCodeNicc’ on Twitch, prior to taking on the DaBaby moniker. So, whether it was DaBaby or not, these Twitch chats will be a little less exciting going forward — at least, until the account returns.

Twitch bans streamer indefinitely after gross swimming pool stream YouTube: WesBtwStreamer WesBtw has been banned indefinitely by Twitch after he filled a pool with various food products on stream. However, Wes and his viewers say that while the stream may have been gross, it didn’t warrant a ban. Twitch has become the home of hundreds of different types of content surrounding a variety of games, but often the most bizarre on-stream moments happen when games aren’t involved at all. WesBtw is a streamer and YouTuber who on January 29 began teasing a self-proclaimed “disgusting pool stream” for the following day on Twitter. In the lead up he posted a picture of a table filled with a variety of different grocery products including milk, sour cream, bread, mustard, and much more, along with the caption: “One man. One pool. One bedroom. Countless gross s**t. It’s gonna be mayhem.” https://twitter.com/wesbtw1/status/1354952922153496578 He spent the stream filling the pool with these items while standing in it, but the fun was cut short when Twitch banned him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lco4x50iurk Shortly after, Wes explained what had actually happened on Twitter. “I was indefinitely banned for bodily fluids but ZERO bodily fluids were shown or occurred. No pee, no poo, no vomit, no blood, etc.” He went on to say: “There was no open wounds, there was no blood, there was no pee/poop AND I never peed or pooped in the pool, there was no vomit, there was no spit. I have spent the last 3 months turning my life around losing weight, quitting drinking, etc. And now this… ffs.” https://twitter.com/wesbtw1/status/1355343785404805126 https://twitter.com/wesbtw1/status/1355360613741056000 Many of his viewers agreed that while the stream was gross, as was the intent, it was not worthy of an indefinite ban. Read More: Streamer trolls chat with Blue Clues cosplay – One person commented: “He has literally been preaching to follow ToS every episode and has been doing great! There’s no body fluids anywhere. Wtf.” Another agreed, writing: “can confirm, was watching. Ridiculous ban.” @TwitchSupport I watched EVERY SINGLE SECOND of Wes’ stream since the moment he got unbanned for the last time you guys tried to unfairly destroy his life. He has literally been preaching to follow ToS every episode and has been doing great! There’s no body fluids anywhere. Wtf. — Cirrus7FourW (@Svn4Weird) January 30, 2021 The ban certainly seems to have come as a blow to WesBtw and his community, but they have been trying to reach Twitch on Twitter to appeal it. At the time of writing, Wes’s Twitch account is still unavailable.

Streamer Mira lashes out at Twitch for ‘double-standards’ after ban for nudity Twitch: Mira_TwitchPopular Twitch streamer Mira has lashed out at the Amazon streaming website’s ‘double-standards’ after being whacked with a platform ban for allegedly showing nudity while scrolling her own Instagram page. Russian streamer Mira has been banned from Twitch for showing nudity midway through her October 4 stream, after revealing an image from her Instagram feed. The offending image in question, which was originally posted on her Instagram profile @Mira_Twitch, was a risqué profile of the Twitch star in a forest clearing. According to Twitch’s terms of service, “nudity or any sexually explicit content… are prohibited” from being shown on any livestream. Mira was less than impressed that she’d been indefinitely blocked from the streaming website for the image and posted her response — as well as a hastily edited version of the offending image — on Twitter soon after the ban. In the post, the Russian took a swipe at Twitch’s hot tub streams. She wrote, “My bad Twitch for showing dis [sic] pic on stream. I’ll remember to add a thong next time, to qualify for the Hot Tubs, Pools, Beach streams [instead].” https://twitter.com/mira_twitch/status/1445118766703075334 Mira currently boasts just over 322k followers on Twitch, and has been active on the popular Amazon-owned platform since 2016. She mainly hosts Just Chatting streams and IRL broadcasts. The 31-year-old originally rose to Twitch prominence in the mid-2010s while she was dating controversial streamer Mitch Jones. The streaming vet — who has since turned his back on Twitch to “find meaning in life” — and Mira dated for several years before calling it quits in a public breakup in 2017. The now-banned Twitch streamer describes herself as a mental health advocate and psychologist and usually posts daily images on her Instagram profile. Dexerto has yet to confirm how long Mira has been suspended from the streaming website. Considering this is the Russian streamer’s first offense, it will likely be a shorter ban. When Amouranth accidentally flashed viewers in 2019, she was slapped with a three-day suspension before returning. High-profile IRL star, Indiefoxx, was not so lucky: a similar offense from the 26-year-old saw her Twitch partnership stripped, and she was banned indefinitely.

Twitch bans streamer HeyImBee’s mod for telling “your mom” joke in chat Instagram/heyimbeeA moderator for popular YouTuber and Twitch streamer ‘HeyImBee’ has been banned from the platform for making a “your mom” joke in chat, confusing many on the site. Twitch has had an interesting start in 2022, to say the least. With the TV show meta dominating the platform, many streamers, have been caught in the confusing crossfire with Pokimane and Disguised Toast being banned. To follow this up, another broadcaster was briefly banned indefinitely for saying he wanted to “destroy heterosexuals” at Mario Kart – something the site found to be a violation of its hate speech rules before reversing the suspension. Now, in another weird twist of fate, a moderator has been banned from the site for a week all because they made a “your mom” joke towards their streamer friend, HeyImBee. from telling a mom joke @twitch pain……. pic.twitter.com/TVcT5JkWPc — ayman (@ayman_kc) January 9, 2022 Moderator banned by Twitch over joke between friends On January 9, HeyImBee’s moderator Aymankc revealed they had been banned from the site for seven days for “unsolicited sexual advances.” The comment in question, according to a screenshot posted by the mod shows them in chat saying “[your] mom knows my strokes” accompanied by the Spanish laughing man meme. “[Banned] for saying this at my own friend Bee,” the moderator captioned the photo. ban for saying this at my own friend bee elisDespair pic.twitter.com/pNhZcA8QuD — ayman (@ayman_kc) January 9, 2022 Bee also came to her mod’s defense, taking to Twitter to voice her disapproval with Twitch’s decision. “My mod said a mum joke in chat and Twitch banned him for a week wtf,” she said, leading to many to tag the Amazon-owned site asking for them to undo the suspension. my mod said a mum joke in chat and twitch banned him for a week wtf lol — heyimbee (@heyimbee) January 12, 2022 HeyImBee is a very popular Australian content creator with over 3 million subscribers on YouTube and nearly 1 million on Twitch, so there is a chance her voice could influence the decision to ban her mod. As it stands, however, Aymankc, remains banned on Twitch with a few days still left on the suspension.

Twitch unbans streamer after 4-year-old appears on stream alone Instagram/nuelderecifeA Valorant Twitch streamer who was banned after his four-year-old son appeared on stream by himself has been unbanned by the Amazon-owned platform after backlash in the community. On March 8, Emanuel ‘NuelDeRecife’ Gila revealed the reason why he was banned on Twitter and his account spread throughout the Brazilian Twitch community. Twitch has not commented on the unban or if the response from the community was enough to reverse the decision. Original story follows… A Valorant and League of Legends streamer is looking for help after being banned indefinitely by Twitch for his four-year-old son appearing on stream by himself. Brazilian streamer Emanuel ‘NuelDeRecife’ Gila revealed that he had to leave the stream for five minutes to take care of a mess his son had made in the room. During the time he was cleaning up the mess, his four-year-old son appeared on stream, resulting in the Amazon-owned platform issuing an indefinite suspension. According to Gila, who was an affiliate on the platform, Twitch was helping him pay bills and now he’s lost part of his earnings. Galera fui banido da twitch plataforma q estava me ajudando a pagar contas em casa o motivo foi pq meu filho de 4 anos apareceu na live sozinho por 5 minutos o tempo q fui arruma a bagunça q ele fez na sala e por esse motivo tomei suspensão indefinida (não tem data para acabar ) — Nuelderecifeᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠ (@Nuelderecife) March 10, 2021 Gila’s tweet documenting what had happened spread far within the Brazilian Twitch scene. Despite his relatively small following, his message was retweeted nearly 3,000 times and amassed over 27,000 likes. This type of situation has happened on Twitch before. Notably, Valorant pro Tayhuhu, who plays on INTZ’s all-female team was banned when her daughter showed up on stream without her knowledge. After numerous petitions, public outcry and media reports, Twitch relented and unbanned the streamer. Filho sozinho nem se for por 1 segundo com a cam, criei uma tela pra quando eu sair pro pc… foi a melhor solução q encontrei. N tem problema ele aparecer com vc, apenas sem vc e sozinho q tem problema — Tayhuhu (@tayhuhuu) March 10, 2021 Thanks to her experience dealing with this type of ban, Tayhuhu reached out to NuelDeRecife with some tips. “I went through the same situation as you, I was banned for 3 months and I couldn’t talk to them in any way,” she replied to Gila’s tweet. She further recommended that the streamer send a ticket in English and that the Brazilian Twitch network cannot manage bans. Additionally, she said that if he gets unbanned, he should make sure he doesn’t leave his son alone for one second. “I created a screen for when I go out to the PC,” she added. “It was the best solution I found.” Twitch does not comment on individual bans, so no further details are available at this time. However, given how the platform decided to unban Tayhuhu, there is a chance the same could happen with NuelDeRecife. Until then, he is thankful for everyone who has commented, writing “everything will be all right with your help.”

Twitch bans streamer for “innapropriate attire” – but not for hot tub stream Twitch / Unsplash / Twitter: @suppycaitlinStreamer ‘supcaitlin’ was banned from Twitch for “inappropriate attire” after wearing a bunny costume, despite being one of many streamers to regularly take part in the new trend of hot tub streams. The streamer suspects mass reporting was behind her suspension. Over the years we’ve seen Twitch go through various trends and games, with streamers savvy enough to produce content they know viewers want to see. One of the latest trends is, rather bizarrely, hot tub streaming. As it sounds, creators get in hot tubs for the duration of their broadcasts and, well, that’s it. It has been criticized by some as manipulating Twitch’s guidelines on revealing clothing, but streamers are yet to be broadly punished for partaking in the hot tub streams. One streamer who has taken part in the hot tub meta is ‘supcaitlin’, a partnered streamer with upwards of 50,000 followers on the streaming platform. However, on April 10, she was banned by the platform for “inappropriate attire” – but not for her hot tub streams. Instead, the ban followed a broadcast in which she wore a bunny outfit. It turned out to be a 24-hour ban, with her account reinstated on April 11. The ban actually pushed back a hot tub stream to the weekend, but some members of the Twitch community were left feeling that the platform’s bans are incredibly inconsistent. banned on twitch for “”inappropriate attire”” so hot tub stream will be pushed back to tomorrow or sunday 🙁 sorry guys — ✿caitlin✿ (@suppycaitlin) April 10, 2021 Twitch’s rules state: “Swimwear is permitted as long as it completely covers the genitals, and those who present as women must also cover their nipples. Full coverage of buttocks is not required, but camera focus around them is still subject to our sexually suggestive content policy. Coverage must be fully opaque, even when wet. Sheer or partially see-through swimwear or other clothing does not constitute coverage.” Some feel that Twitch’s enforcement of their sexually suggestive content policies is incredibly inconsistent, with Caitlin’s bunny outfit arguably less revealing than some of her own hot tub content. Twitch has, in the past, been accused of acting leniently towards female streamers. Many feel that this trend and the lack of repercussions is a continuation of this leniency. Equally, it has been argued that the hot tub stream ‘meta’ is creating an “anti-women” sentiment on the platform. Twitch says they always consider context with any moderation action.

Twitch bans streamer after bizarre twerking incident at Mitch Jones concert Twitch/garretlaA Twitch streamer has been banned after attending a Mitch Jones concert when an opening act randomly showed too much skin. Before Garret could even get a chance to stream Jones’ show, however, one of the opening acts started twerking with fire being spun around her. While it started out as a safe broadcast, things got a bit too crazy when she pulled her pants down. Despite Garret pulling the camera away and refocusing it back to himself, the damage was already done. To make matters worse, shortly thereafter he put the camera back on the woman for a brief moment. “What the f**k is this?!” he gasped. “That’s TOS.” WELL JUST COPPED MY FIRST BAN, I’M SORRY @Twitch 🙁 — Everyone Loves Garret (@GarretLA_) October 29, 2021 Twitch streamer banned after concert’s opening act antics Unfortunately for Garret, he was right and this stunt resulted in Twitch banning him from the platform. Twitch’s Community Guidelines state, “if accidental nudity appears on your stream, we expect you to take immediate action, remove the content, and take precautionary steps so it won’t happen again. You should not focus your stream on anyone violating our clothing or sexual content standards; you will be held accountable for doing so to the same extent as if you were violating the standards yourself.” In a Twitter conversation with Mitch Jones, Garret revealed he may not have saw her body exposed originally and thought the act would just involve fire spinners. He also stated her body was on stream for just two seconds. I DID NOT KNOW THAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN I HONESTLY THOUGHT THERE WAS A FIRE SPINNER HERE SADGE pic.twitter.com/DtpJmHtDre — Everyone Loves Garret (@GarretLA_) October 29, 2021 “I woulda turned that cam away as soon as I heard that chick,” Mitch said. So far, GarretLA hasn’t revealed how long the ban will last for, but considering it’s only his first, chances are it will short-lived. It’s also unclear if he has any plans to appeal the suspension. Hopefully, the ban doesn’t last too long and Garret can get back to IRL streaming on Twitch in no time.

Twitch bans streamer for ‘inappropriate name’ despite using it for 8 years YouTube: Piece_Of_Sheet / TwitchTwitch has been heavy handed with the DMCA bans over the last couple of weeks, but one streamer has been taken off the platform for having an ‘inappropriate name’ — despite being active for over eight years with no issues. The Twitch suspensions you usually see nowadays — especially from the big names — are for things like using inappropriate language, or being taken off the platform for playing DMCA-protected music. Usually these suspensions are for a few days or a week, unless they’ve done it time and time again. However, imagine being on the platform for years under the same alias, with no problems whatsoever, and then getting banned indefinitely for your name. Well, that’s what happened to one Twitch streamer. His name is ‘Piece_Of_Sheet’. He’s a League of Legends content creator who used to stream six days a week, and has done so for eight years. However, he’s had that taken away from him, after Twitch considered his name to be inappropriate. ??? I streamed on twitch back in 2012 when https://t.co/VRor37DyKu was more popular….been super active for 8 years (no complaints from anyone) but now get banned for an inappropriate name? Can someone at support look into this please? Hoping this is a mistake. @TwitchSupport pic.twitter.com/FUf5ny0cpt — Piece of Sheet (@pieceofsheet) November 6, 2020 “I streamed on Twitch back in 2012 [and] been super active for eight years [with] no complaints from anyone but now get banned for an inappropriate name,” he said on Twitter after the ban was handed down. Twitch claimed that “due to the severe nature of this violation, or the fact that [he’s] incurred multiple violations,” Piece_Of_Sheet needs an indefinite suspension. The suspension will not be automatically lifted, and the only hope Piece_Of_Sheet has of getting his Twitch account back is a successful appeal. Piece_Of_Sheet did admit he has been banned on stream before, but he also served out that suspension. “I fell asleep on stream once about seven years ago and got banned for that. The ban was then obviously lifted.” I feel asleep on stream once about 7 years ago, and got banned for that. The ban was then obviously lifted, and the staff member that banned me actually ended up staying around the stream for months because he enjoyed the stream and the content. — Piece of Sheet (@pieceofsheet) November 6, 2020 Twitch are yet to comment on the suspension. However, we will let you know if any new information arises.

Twitch bans Spanish YouTube star Wismichu for accidentally showing inappropriate content YouTube: Wismichu / TwitchMassively popular Spanish YouTuber ‘Wismichu’ was handed a 24-hour ban from Twitch after accidentally scrolling past some seriously NSFW content during a recent broadcast. When it comes to live streaming, a good amount of Spanish content creators rank up at the very top; names like Ibai and TheGrefg have made huge waves on Twitch, with Grefg managing to break the platform’s record for most concurrent views at 2.5 million viewers during a January 11 broadcast. YouTuber Wismichu is also among one of the country’s best content creators. Boasting over 9 million subscribers on the platform, this Spanish personality is best known for his satirical video essays, vlogs, prank videos and the occasional gaming upload. However, Wismichu has also garnered a substantial following on Twitch, managing to amass around 1 million followers — but these viewers won’t be able to tune into his broadcasts for the next 24 hours, thanks to an embarrassing slip-up. On February 4, Wismichu uploaded a clip from a recent Twitch stream to his Twitter profile, which showed himself casually scrolling through a subreddit while giving commentary. Unfortunately, one of the images in the subreddit was an incredibly graphic photo of someone’s undercarriage, which the streamer quickly scrolled past, visibly upset at the prospect that he might get punished for unintentionally showing the picture. The YouTuber humorously admitted that he’d been given a 24 hour ban from Twitch due to a “tremendous cock” when breaking the news to his fans. One commenter suggested that Wismichu should employ a second screen as an added safety measure — but Wismichu laughingly claimed that he has three screens in his setup and still managed to score a ban. This is far from the first time that Twitch has banned one of Spain’s biggest creators for similar reasons; in January, Ibai revealed he’d received a 24-hour suspension for showing someone’s inappropriate profile picture, which also happened to be a photo of genitalia. In this instance, however, it seems that the user had intended to get Ibai banned, as their username translated to “Ibai banned” — but it seems that, so far, Wismichu doesn’t have such dedicated haters.

Twitch bans streamer after her OnlyFans “menu” appeared on screen Twitch/LilylanessAn OnlyFans model has been banned on Twitch after she accidentally revealed her OF “menu” available live on stream. Many Twitch streamers have made a killing through OnlyFans over the years, but keeping both professions separate can prove to be a bit of a challenge, with the Amazon-owned platform’s rules generally prohibiting the promotion of such content. We’ve seen Twitch streamers like Alinity earn more through OnlyFans in months than they would have earned through years of streaming and a big reason for that is their pre-existing fanbase through non-adult sites. While Twitch prohibits streamers from advertising their OF accounts, and they’re also not allowed to solicit sexually suggestive services – something that Lilylaness inadvertently did by showing her OnlyFans menu offerings. Twitch bans OnlyFans model for showing her “menu” options During an August 15 broadcast, Lilylaness was on Twitch talking with her chat, when suddenly, her less-than-safe OnlyFans options popped up on stream. The options seemed to resemble hot tub stream donation options where streamers would do jumping jacks, squats, or change outfits if they got a certain amount of tips, but these were much more sexual in nature. For her part, Lilylaness quickly removed the text from the broadcast and seemed distraught when the menu appeared, but that didn’t stop Twitch from banning her. “Users are prohibited from broadcasting, uploading, soliciting, offering, and linking to pornographic or sexually explicit content, and from offering or soliciting any sexual content in exchange for money, services, or items of value,” Twitch’s community guidelines state. So far, the OnlyFans model has yet to address the ban, but it does appear the suspension isn’t permanent as her channel states the account is only “temporarily unavailable.”

Twitch bans Smash pro bobby big ballz after drinking and driving on stream Twitch/Twitter/chickenman400Twitch has banned Super Smash Bros Melee pro ‘bobby big ballz’ after he was caught drinking wine while driving on stream. Falco main bobby big ballz is one of the top Melee players around, frequently finishing in the top 16 in Team Liquid and Hungrybox’s Coinbox tournament series, but he may not be able to compete anymore. On September 5, the Smash Melee star was streaming on Twitch where he drove to the store, bought some wine and proceeded to drink while he was still in the car driving. This caused an uproar in the community with many users demanding Twitch take action. Sure enough, only a few hours later, the Amazon-owned streaming platform hit the Smash pro with a seemingly permanent ban for violating its community guidelines. Smash pro banned for drinking and driving on stream In the afternoon on September 5, bobby big ballz addressed the controversy, admitting that he was wrong while remaining adamant that he wasn’t drunk. “Surely one singular sip of my 12% wine on my 3 minute drive home from 711 doesn’t classify as drunk driving,” he said. “As a streamer I’m wrong and will take responsibility for my actions. If the community wants to ban me I will humbly oblige. I am not a role model please don’t accept my internet personality as such.” The streamer went on to say that drinking helps him “cope” with life, but added that he wasn’t trying to make excuses. Currently, Bobby’s Twitch account says: “This channel is currently unavailable due to a violation of Twitch’s Community Guidelines or Terms of Service.” Although it hasn’t been confirmed by Twitch, in the past, this message has indicated that as channel has been permanently suspended. If it is, then this could be the end of Bobby’s professional career, as tournaments would not be able to broadcast his matches without risking a ban themselves. This is hardly the first time a streamer has been suspended for making poor decisions while driving. Earlier this year, a Polish streamer ran over a dog with her car after she was distracted by chat.

Twitch bans Smash pro Moist Aaron for rude ascii copypastas Twitch/Twitter/AaronFGCSuper Smash Bros Ultimate pro Moist Aaron has been banned on Twitch for spamming phallic copypastas in chat. Copypastas have become a major part of Twitch and internet culture with bizarre out-of-context quotes, images and more being prominent online. Sometimes, however, those copypastas can be a little too much for Twitch and the ban hammer ends up coming down hard. On September 10, Smash pro Aaron Wilhite was posting phallic ascii images in chat and was hit with a fairly long suspension. Moist Aaron banned for phallic Twitch chat copypastas Shortly after Aaron was banned on Twitch, the Diddy Kong main revealed that he was posting too much “random bullsh*t” in peoples’ chats. He claimed to be posting ascii images as well, which is essentially art, but made up of characters that you can use in text or type on a keyboard. “Guess Twitch is really cracking down on copypastas now,” Aaron suggested, noting how he was banned for seven days. Some users pointed out that the ban length was the same for the streamer who had been caught having intercourse live on stream and didn’t feel that the Smash pro’s suspension should be as long. For his part, however, Aaron seems to be taking the ban well, remarking how he can “at least comprehend” why he was temporarily suspended from Twitch. Luckily for Wilhite, he appealed the suspension and Twitch decided to shorten the punishment to just four days, so he will be able to return to streaming early this week. The ban comes as Aaron was coming off the highlight tournament win of his career at PAX West’s Almost Pro, besting fellow Moist Esports members Light and Kola in the process for a Moist podium sweep.

Twitch bans Ryan Haywood after disgraced Rooster Teeth star attempts comeback Rooster TeethTwitch has banned the account of former Rooster Teeth personality Ryan Haywood, months after he was let go from the company in light of predatory allegations. [jwplayer smynPnSq] The disgraced Achievement Hunter will no longer be able to interact with the gaming community through Twitch. Haywood’s personal account by the name of ‘SortaMaliciousGaming’ has been permanently banned from the platform. Following more than a dozen allegations against him, Haywood was dropped from Rooster Teeth back in October 2020. A few weeks of silence had gone by before he returned to the internet through Twitch at the start of the new year. Naturally, it didn’t take long for the community to catch on with #BanRyanHaywood trending across Twitter shortly after. Twitch answered on January 20, finally erasing his presence on the site. ❌ Twitch Partner “”SortaMaliciousGaming”” (@ryanthetwit) has been banned! ❌https://t.co/FlRXrww0nq#twitch #ban #firstban #partner #twitchpartner 🦁 — StreamerBans (@StreamerBans) January 20, 2021 Haywood took to the streaming platform to share a lengthy message with his remaining followers. “I wanted to say thank you to all of you who are still subscribed,” he said. “I’ve spent the last few months figuring out what the next steps are. Through all of it, having your support has been an incredible help.” Immediately, former colleagues and the greater Rooster Teeth audience latched onto the statement, slamming Twitch for allowing him a voice on the platform. Haywood had previously used social media to groom multiple fans over a number of years. Many had even engaged in intimate relations while underage. “I made mistakes and will be leaving RT to focus on rebuilding my family and life,” he said on Twitter on October 6. “I’m sorry to anyone I’ve hurt.” As a result of his infidelity and predatory behavior, Haywood’s presence has since been wiped from years of Rooster Teeth content. Countless colleagues of his also took to social media to show support for the community. “I’ll keep you updated on what’s going on,” Haywood added in his message on Twitch prior to the ban, implying that it would be his primary form of communication moving forward into 2021. He now has no means of which to publicly engage with the community online. His privileges across Twitter, YouTube, and now Twitch have all been revoked.