What you need to know
- The US Capitol was recently breached and stormed by pro-Trump supporters on Wednesday, shocking the nation.
- Popular streaming site Twitch already took some action by removing the popular "PogChamp" emoji after the personality behind it made an insensitive statement.
- Now, Twitch has made the decision to indefinitely disable Trump's account, following the attacks on the Capitol and Trump's responses to the situation.
- Trump's account isn't banned, so videos and streams remain up, but Trump will not be able to stream until at least after he leaves office.
The country and the world as a whole was shocked when an unruly group of pro-Trump supporters managed to breach and storm the US Capitol building yesterday. This has led to a series of decisions from social media companies, who are attempting to crack down on posts and stances that incite violence and dangerous behavior. Facebook and Instagram have already indefinitely suspended President Donald Trump from their platforms following the horrifying events, and Trump's dangerous comments on the situation. Now, Twitch is following in their footsteps by disabling Trump's account.
In a report from the Verge, a Twitch spokesperson said the following:
"In light of yesterday's shocking attack on the Capitol, we have disabled President Trump's Twitch channel. 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."
Trump's Twitch account hasn't been banned, so all previous videos and streams are still in place, but the account is indefinitely disabled. This means Trump will not be able to stream at all, and Twitch is apparently planning to reassess Trump's account only after the current President leaves office.
We've made the decision to remove the PogChamp emote following statements from the face of the emote encouraging further violence after what took place in the Capitol today.We've made the decision to remove the PogChamp emote following statements from the face of the emote encouraging further violence after what took place in the Capitol today.— Twitch (@Twitch) January 7, 2021January 7, 2021
This follows Twitch's earlier move to remove the popular "PogChamp" emoji from the platform after the personality behind the emoji spoke out in favor of the riot inside the Capitol and incited further action following a woman's death during yesterday's events.
Finally, Twitter also removed some of the more dangerous posts from Trump's account and temporarily locked him out, but there's no word on a proper indefinite suspension or ban from Twitter as of right now.
Twitch remains one of the top choices for streamers everywhere and continues to make moves to ensure the platform is a safe place for everyone. If you're interested in getting into streaming, consider one of the Best Microphones for Streamers to get started.
