Twitch has gone one step further in response to yesterday’s assault on the U.S. Capitol. He has now suspended the Twitch account of U.S. President Donald Trump.
The move comes after Facebook closes the president’s accounts on Facebook and Instagram. In an email to Kotaku, a Twitch representative said the measure was intended to prevent the president from “inciting more violence.”
“In the face of yesterday’s shocking attack on the Capitol, we have turned off President Trump’s Twitch channel,” they said. “Given the current extraordinary circumstances and the incendiary rhetoric of the president, we believe this is a necessary step to protect our community and prevent Twitch from being used to incite violence.”
The spokesman said the suspension has no end date at this time. “We are focused on minimizing the damage leading up to the government’s transition and we will review your account after you leave office.”
It is not clear what constitutes a suspension in this case. Donald Trump’s account can still be viewed on Twitch and previous videos uploaded to the account can be viewed. Twitch may have suspended the ability to stream or upload new videos at this time.
This is the second time the U.S. president’s Twitch account has been suspended. Twitch briefly suspended his account in June for airing “hateful content.”
Twitch’s (and Facebook’s) decision to ban the president’s social media accounts has the feeling of closing the barn door after the horse has escaped, run to Washington DC and cheered on a crowd of pro-government supporters. Trump to march on Capitol Hill. Little of what the president has posted on social media in the last week has changed from what he has posted since he lost the election in November.
On the part of Twitch, it’s not like Donald Trump jumped on the channel and aired Fortnite while spreading incendiary content. The bill seemed to serve primarily as a point to relay Trump’s rallies to a playing audience.
In 2020, the Twitch normally focused on video games was now found as a popular center for political mobilization thanks in part to politicians such as President-elect Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Senator Bernie Sanders and House Representative Alexandria Ocasio -Cortez who used the platform to interact with US voters.