We’ve learned Twitch now bans for misinformation, with immediate bans handed out to big right-wing streamers on the platform.
The company updated their terms of service and community guidelines to focus on whoever they deem “harmful misinformation actors.” Twitch issued a statement addressing the situation, saying “this update will likely not impact you or the streamers you love on Twitch.”
Coming from this, Twitch said “Our goal is to prohibit individuals whose online presence is dedicated to spreading harmful, false information from using Twitch.”
So how does Twitch vet what is misinformation? They apparently work with “misinformation experts” like the Global Disinformation Index, and if you question the 2020 presidential election in the USA, they also work with election boards and congressional certification.
While Twitch now bans for misinformation, they claim to only focus on accounts that “persistently share” information that is “widely disproven and broadly shared,” as well as misinformation they consider potentially violent or harmful. They’re only focusing on accounts that do all three: persistence of misinformation, how widespread it is, and if it has potentially harmful effects.
The new guidelines outline specific examples of what they consider “misinformation.” They include:
- Misinformation that targets protected groups, which is already prohibited under our Hateful Conduct & Harassment Policy
- Harmful health misinformation and wide-spread conspiracy theories related to dangerous treatments, COVID-19, and COVID-19 vaccine misinformation
- Discussions of treatments that are known to be harmful without noting the dangers of such treatments
- For COVID-19—and any other WHO-declared Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)—misinformation that causes imminent physical harm or is part of a broad conspiracy
- Misinformation promoted by conspiracy networks tied to violence and/or promoting violence
- Civic misinformation that undermines the integrity of a civic or political process
- Promotion of verifiably false claims related to the outcome of a fully vetted political process, including election rigging, ballot tampering, vote tallying, or election fraud*
- In instances of public emergencies (e.g., wildfires, earthquakes, active shootings), we may also act on misinformation that may impact public safety
Nearly immediately after the new policy went into effect, popular right-wing streamers and influencers Tore and Zak Paine (hosts of the show RedPill78) were banned.
Now that they’ve been banned off essentially every mainstream platform, the only place you can watch or listen to them is on their official site.
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