Twitch issued an apology after circulating insensitive emotes as part of its Hispanic Heritage Month. The emotes, criticized for a mixture of whitewashing and stereotyping, quickly garnered a cold response online and have been pulled from the site. However, images of the emotes are still circulating, with some members of the Twitch community directing negative feedback at the company's Twitter page.
There are three emotes that have caused a stir, one depicting a woman wearing a sombrero, one depicting a woman holding maracas, and the final one being a woman with a guitar. All three were rejected as stereotypes by a portion of the platform's community, many challenging Twitch to "do better" in the future, especially in times where the goal is to help uplift minority streamers.
Twitch's apology made clear that the emotes were intended to put a positive spotlight on the Hispanic community and its creators, but that it "missed the mark" in attempting to do so. For the most part, the community has thanked Twitch for admitting its mistake, though there's still plenty of criticism taking place.
The site has been a hotbed of controversy lately due to a mixture of poor decisions on the part of streamers and the company itself, as well as changes to the platform, like Twitch automating mid-roll ads. With drama being commonplace on the platform, more extreme issues like this can cause a divide between the community, creators, and Twitch itself, putting the company in an uncomfortable position.
The position is worsened by other major issues. In July, Twitch was criticized for a video in support of the Black Lives Matter movement that mostly featured white streamers, resulting in another apology from the company. In that case, as well as with the emotes, many fans have questioned how such major issues made it to being published by the platform.
The push for a diversified gaming industry, both for content creators and developers, is nothing new but has continually gained steam, being pushed forward by new initiatives and organizations like Black Girls Code that aim to introduce broader audiences to the industry. Some companies have also pledged money to support minority creators.
Twitch's Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15 to October 15. Twitch has promised to highlight Hispanic creators during this time, offering front-page spots for streamers, panels, more. However, Twitch's misstep may have sullied the event for some, so the company will likely take extra precautions to ensure that it doesn't repeat its mistakes.