Twitch is a major streaming platform most widely recognized for its gaming content, with over 30 million active daily users according to a report by EarthWeb. However, in recent years, Twitch has expanded its reach beyond the gaming community following an increase in interest for streamers who are just chatting, playing music, sharing art, and more.
With so many categories and an abundance of different content, it can be difficult for any one person to keep up with the controversies that inevitably come with a cornucopia of content creators and large audiences. Twitch banning streamers in 2022 is becoming more common along with internet stalkers, heated political debates, and all variations of drama.
JiDion Hate Raids Pokimane
Arguably, the biggest streamer clash in 2022 came as a result of a potentially sexist feud between JiDion and Pokimane, which led to the vlog and prank streamer being permanently banned from the platform early in the year. On January 12, he directed his community to Pokimane's stream and encouraged them to spam her chat, which resulted in some particularly nasty messages. Some trolls harassed her viewers directly to the point that Pokimane ended her stream early to keep them from harm.
The prolific streamer Ninja, known for his Fortnite and League of Legends gameplay, found himself dragged into the controversy after JiDion asked him to help appeal his ban. Ninja sardonically responded "I can send a text", but later revealed that he never actually did. All of this ultimately led to Ninja and his wife threatening to sue Pokimane after the female streamer accused him of aiding in defamation of character.
Fortunately, it seems the conflict between the original two has come to an end after both Pokimane and JiDion collaborated on a mukbang video where the prankster apologized for his unwittingly misogynistic actions. They appear to be on good terms now, though JiDion stated that this all started because he hadn't liked Pokimane as a person, and it had nothing to do with her gender.
Saudi Arabia Contract Debate
A multitude of streamers this year found themselves being offered a great deal of money to attend a four-day gaming event in Saudi Arabia centered around Fortnite. At first, the streamers were under the impression that this would be an enjoyable charity event, but a few quickly changed their minds after delving deeper into the ethics of such a partnership.
American streamer TFue is said to be involved with the event, though Mizkif and Emiru have pulled out of the sponsorship after fellow streamer HasanAbi explained the controversy surrounding Saudi Arabia. In the past, businesses like Riot Games have severed ties with Saudi Arabia due to global backlash, and the country's refusal to adhere to the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
It seems that the deal also required the creators to upload several posts across their social media platforms which would, in turn, land them six-figure payouts. The debate over whether content creators should be more particular about who and what they are promoting has been a subject of contention for quite some time now and only grew more heated during the Saudi Arabia contract debate.
Gambling Streams Spark Outrage
Online gambling has recently seen a spike over the past year, likely in part due to "Casino Streams" popularized by streamers like Trainwreckstv, xQc, and Adin Ross. The streams have been called "ethically ambiguous" and "sketchy" by other creators, but that certainly hasn't stopped some from continuing to deliver gambling content. It's gotten so out of hand, however, that petitions are being signed to remove gambling streams from Twitch permanently.
The main reason for the controversy comes from the fact that Twitch does not have strict limits in place for underage youth. While streamers are able to flag their content as "Mature", that doesn't mean that a minor won't click on the video anyway and suddenly gain an interest in the act of gambling.
Last year, xQc first fell into what he admitted was a "gambling addiction" and quit the gambling streams after feeling guilt for exposing some of his underage audience to it. Nonetheless, xQc began streaming gambling content just ten months after he said he would stop, albeit this time the streams were sponsored, and he excused his actions by saying that he "can afford it."
This month, YouTube banned xQc due to Community Guidelines strikes which resulted in his Twitch channel becoming age-restricted. Though, the latter is speculated to be a result of the gambling and his recent loss of over $800,000 during a stream.
Many large streamers such as Mizkif have turned down hefty gambling sponsorships that would have likely pulled in millions every year in an effort to protect the "impressionable" members of their audiences. Other creators like Ludwig, Amouranth, and Asmongold have also not been hesitant to speak out against the increasingly popular gambling meta, citing that Twitch needs to put a stop to gambling streamers.
Amouranth's Cyber-stalker Legitimacy
Many streamers and celebrities are well aware of the dangers of cyber-stalkers, people who often grow obsessed with a personality and will do just about anything to harass their target. Some do it in a misplaced display of love, while others do it to ruin a streamer's life, as seen with streamers like Alinity, Valkyrae, Sweet Anita who was being sent death threats, and countless others.
Streamer and model Amouranth is one of the latest to share her troubles regarding a cyber-stalker who allegedly sold all of his possessions in order to travel across the world and even tried to break into her home. After calling the police, Amouranth was told that cyber-stalking was not a real threat, which became a prominent point of debate for her community. Some claim that because no crimes were actually made until the man tried to enter her house, he could not be held responsible, while others believe that the crime should be stopped before it has a chance to occur.
On top of this, an unnamed YouTuber cast judgment on her story after watching Amouranth's interview with Anthony Padilla and theorizing that she made up the story for attention because of a few dates that didn't align. Amouranth responded that the YouTuber just didn't understand that the dates she gave about this stalker were correct and that she has had multiple stalkers throughout her life, which she has referenced at separate times.
Andrew Tate versus xQc
An ongoing controversy between xQc and British-American kickboxer Andrew Tate first began during a live stream hosted by Adin Ross when xQc said he disagreed with Tate's perspective on women. Tate has a reputation for his disputable comments and has been banned from Twitter multiple times for it, especially in regard to his opinions on rape victims which he voiced during the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
The stream led to Tate being labeled as "misogynistic" by xQc and the two made no ground in convincing one another with their arguments. The argument became so intense that Tate eventually left the Discord call. Most of the YouTube comment section tends to believe that Tate won the overall debate by continuing to be patient with xQc's outbursts.
Still, a lot of people seem divided on who to support in this matter, as some believe xQc was behaving childishly and others find Tate's ideals to be offensive. Streamers HasanAbi and Destiny caught wind of the debate as well and began sharing their own opinions, with Destiny commenting on his distaste for him. However, the overall consensus appears to be that any form of open discourse is welcome, as long as both parties involved in the discussion are respectful.
There will likely be more controversies to come revolving around the Twitch platform, seeing as the year is only a little more than half over. Hopefully, there will be more playful roasting between content creators rather than genuine disagreements.