‘There is No Place on Twitch For Hatred’, Says CEO

Twitch, a platform known for high levels of toxicity and scandal, is not a place for hatred of any kind, CEO Dan Clancy has insisted. In a recent blog post discussing updates to the platform’s community guidelines, the somewhat eccentric CEO stated that ‘Twitch is, and always will be, about belonging.’

In the last few months, Twitch has made several community-led changes to the platform’s guidelines, many of which have been well received by the wider audience. However, it’s a drop in the ocean when lined up against years of issues, struggles with hate raids and bot behaviour, and questionable content making it to the platform.

‘We Work Hard’

Dan Clancy was fiercely outspoken against hatred in all forms in a recent blog post on Twitch:

Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen members of the community voice concerns about how we handle potentially harmful content. There is no place on Twitch for racism, hatred, or harassment of any kind, including antisemitism and Islamophobia.

Twitch is, and will always be, about belonging. Each day, people come together on our service to build communities around shared interests, and to express themselves authentically. For this to be possible, we work hard to ensure that our community is a safe place.

He went on to say that some content might seem objectable to members of that worldwide community, but regardless, it’s allowed on the platform. In recent weeks, Twitch landed in hot water for ‘permitting’ Frogan, an inflammatory streamer, to wish death and suffering on soldiers in the US military.

This partnered Twitch streamer eventually landed a 30-day ban, but for some, that wasn’t even close to being enough.

For years, Twitch has been in a to-and-fro battle with what’s permitted on the site and what’s considered ‘bannable’. From hot tub streamers to those glorifying bullying and hateful behaviour, the site has edged into the realms of being a toxic cesspool at times.

Clancy is adamant that things are still changing for the better:

We’re grateful for the feedback and input from our community. Our safety approach continues to build and evolve, as our service grows. We want to ensure that anyone can find their place on Twitch, and remain committed to ensuring that hate and harassment have no place here.

Do you think Twitch is improving in terms of toxicity and hateful content? Let us know on the Insider Gaming forum.

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