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Asmongold Faces Temporary Twitch Ban Due to Ranting Comments
Twitch personality Zack Hoyt - aka Asmongold - had his 'Zackrawrr' channel temporarily banned after creating controversy and inflammatory comments during a live stream. He is one of the most highlighted streamers covering games like World of Warcraft, who is accused of igniting floodgates of hate speech about Israel-Palestine.
Twitch is an online gaming and live-streaming service that has endured a wide range of antisemitism in the past. It has strict community rules to handle posts that may be considered hateful or harmful. The latest case has also called for further questions on the various responsibilities of internet content creators.
Twitch has Community Guidelines and Streamer Responsibility
On October 14, he live-streamed Asmongold when he identified Palestinians as "terrible people" and made extremely polarizing comments regarding their culture. Social media went viral with this remark. Quickly, the comment entered the public arena and became a huge reason for outrage. Twitch acted quite quickly by suspending his 'Zackrawrr' channel. Hoyt's main account, 'Asmongold', is still live, but has not been used in almost a year.
Nearly telling this incident is the story of Twitch enforcing rules regarding hateful conduct: no creator is above the guidelines. The platform, which hosts some of the biggest gaming streamers on its service, including Ninja and Pokimane, has banned several creators with similar conduct.
The Influence of Words: Streamers Need to Be Watchful
The case of Asmongold perfectly describes the broader issue with commenters on the streams who say things without thinking. A live stream with millions of followers has no room for harsh words; one single outburst can bring a lot of damage to the audience. Most of the viewers look up to these streamers, so the creators must be very much in their senses of the power they hold in their hands.
Among them are some big names - such as Dr. Disrespect and xQc, who were banned from the platform for violating community guidelines. This is how even the greatest names suffer in a streamer platform. The platform remains firm on its boundaries and continues with the two positions regarding its goals: creating a desirable and inclusive environment.
Increasing Responsibilities among Internet Content Providers
As content creators, streamers need to realize their responsibilities in shaping online discourse. This platform is gigantic; very critical that big fish, like Asmongold recently demonstrated, start holding themselves responsibly in use of the platform. It's incredibly easy for offence-laced and hate speech-laced comments to get out of hand. However, as much as responsibility needs to flow from awareness and caution over words due to the immediate impact on the community, this will, in due course, also reflect on the future of the streamer on Twitch.
With inputs from agencies
Image Source: Multiple agencies
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