Twitch has become the latest service to indefinitely deplatform President Trump after a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol yesterday in a bid to stop the election certification process, resulting in four deaths.
“In light of yesterday’s shocking attack on the Capitol, we have disabled President Trump’s Twitch channel,” Twitch told Techcrunch in a statement. “Given the current extraordinary circumstances and the President’s incendiary rhetoric, we believe this is a necessary step to protect our community and prevent Twitch from being used to incite further violence.”
As with his Facebook and Snapchat accounts, Trump’s ban from Twitch is indefinite — and will stay in effect at least through the remainder of his presidency. “We are focused on minimizing harm leading up to the transition of government, and will reassess his account after he leaves office,” Twitch said.
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In light of yesterday’s attack, Twitch also shared today that it is removing the PogChamp emote, which features the face of streamer Ryan Gutierrez. PogChamps is an online amateur chess tournament that Gutierrez won, though Twitch is distancing itself from Gutierrez for encouraging further violence in the wake of yesterday’s siege.
This is not the first time that Twitch has punished the President since he launched his account in Oct. 2019 — primarily as a feed for his campaign rallies. In June, Trump’s account was temporarily banned for hateful conduct, including remarks made at a Tulsa rally where he referred to COVID-19 as the ‘Kung Flu’ — with the ban arriving just days after Twitch said it had reviewed its hateful conduct and harassment policies. Twitch instituted further changes to these policies last month, which are set to go into effect on Jan. 22.
In addition to Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitch, Twitter has also temporarily suspended Trump’s account, and has said that any future policy violations will result in a permanent suspension.
