Donald Trump and his supporters get double online hits after two big social media platforms—Twitch and Reddit—suspend Trump-related accounts.
The famous online streaming service platform, Twitch, has reportedly slapped Trump’s channel with a suspension, following an alleged hate speech violation.
Meanwhile, Reddit pounded its ban gavel to a few subreddits dedicated to the current POTUS. Reports have it more than 2,000 pro-Trump communities were banned in the forum-centered website.
Twitch stands against hate speech
In all fairness to Twitch, the streaming service website has been busy banning and suspending a few noted channels, such as that of DrDisrespect‘s and all the others.
Per USA Today, Trump’s official Twitch channel, which was launched in October 2019, violated Twitch’s rules against hate speech. The media outlet highlights one of the videos guilty of the violation, which is the rebroadcast of Trump’s 2015 presidential campaign rally.
Big Tech vs. Trump, a timeline:
May 29: @Twitter adds warning label to Trump tweets
June 3: @Snapchat no longer promote Trump in Discover
June 18: @Facebook removes Trump Nazi ads
June 29: @Reddit bans The_Donald forum
June 29: @Twitch temp bans Trumphttps://t.co/ROvbqVpIi9— Sara Fischer (@sarafischer) June 29, 2020
In the said rebroadcast, Trump “described immigrants crossing the border from Mexico.”
USA Today quotes Trump where it allegedly contains the hate speech:
“They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
Aside from this, Trump’s recent rally broadcast in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which also received quite the flak from the public, was also flagged down for hate speech violate, after describing the recent events of housebreaking as “a very tough hombre.”
A representative spoke with the media outlet as well, saying, “Hateful conduct is not allowed on Twitch.” As mentioned earlier, the streaming giant is hard at work cleaning up any negative behavior on its platform. Micky News recently reported that other famous streamers were also struck with suspensions and perma-bans after getting accused of harassment and misconduct.
Reddit strikes the ban gavel as well
Furthermore, The Verge reports that more than 2,000 Reddit communities including r/The_Donald and r/ChapoTrapHouse were banned following the implementation of the new set of rules, which strongly highlights laws against hate speech as well.
Although, it is important to note that these subreddits have no direct connection with the current POTUS and were created by his avid supporters. However, the media outlet emphasized that Trump did recognize the subreddit r/The_Donald at one point when he did an “Ask Me Anything” segment during his 2016 campaign.
Reddit bans 'The_Donald' forum in crackdown, Twitch suspends Trump's channel https://t.co/MswONMUr43 pic.twitter.com/5RkvA1Z7fe
— Reuters World (@ReutersWorld) June 29, 2020
This specific subreddit went under quarantine last year after Reddit found it hosting “content that incited violence.” Similar findings were seen for r/ChapoTrapHouse as well.
Speaking to several reporters, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman expressed, “I have to admit that I’ve struggled with balancing my values as an American, and around free speech and free expression, with my values and the company’s values around common human decency.”
Huffman also cited the excerpt of their Reddit house rules where both the aforementioned subreddits were in violation of:
“The community has consistently hosted and upvoted more rule-breaking content than average (Rule 1), antagonized us and other communities (Rules 2 and 8), and its mods have refused to meet our most basic expectations.”
Recently, industries from all different aspects, including the gaming and the tech community, have been expressive of their stands against hate speech and racial injustice.
Featured image courtesy of Caspar Camille Rubin/Unsplash