Key Takeaways
- Twitch star Mizkif said he wants political streamers banned from the platform.
- Doing so would eliminate “a lot of stress” and “problems,” Mizkif opined.
- His proposal elicited mixed reactions online, with some social media users contending that the suggestion isn’t even serious but merely an act of “farming” bait clips.
Twitch star Mizkif has said that the Amazon-owned streaming service should ban all political content. His remark was shared during a mid-November 2024 stream that saw him present a straightforward argument for why Twitch would be better off without political content.
While Twitch originally started as a video game-focused service, it began allowing political content in the mid-2010s when its list of categories expanded to include the IRL (In Real Life) and Creative labels. Political streams, however, remained a niche content category on the platform until the run-up to the 2020 U.S. presidential election, which marked a seismic shift in their popularity. This change is underlined by the fact that political commentator Hasan Piker became one of the most-watched Twitch streamers at the time.
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Four years later, political content on Twitch is still going strong. Reflecting on this state of affairs in a recent stream, OTK co-founder Matthew “Mizkif” Rinaudo said that all broadcasts of this kind should be banned. The 29-year-old opined that “a lot of stress and a lot of problems would be gone” were this to happen. Instead of doing Twitch political streams, content creators eager to discuss politics should instead go to Twitter, Mizkif said.
Not Everyone Is Convinced Mizkif Seriously Wants Politics Banned From Twitch
The content creator’s remarks, offered during a November 15 stream, sparked mixed reactions online. While some social media users wholeheartedly agreed with his proposal, others contended that Twitch streamers should be allowed to speak their minds—whether on dedicated political streams or not—so long as they adhere to the platform’s existing community guidelines. At the same time, not everyone is convinced that Mizkif’s comments were even serious. Over on the r/LivestreamFail subreddit, dozens of people posited that the streamer’s proposal to ban political content from Twitch is merely an act of “farming” bait clips by chiming in on a contentious issue.
Banning Politics From Twitch Could Be Difficult To Enforce
Regardless of the sincerity of Mizkif’s latest idea, a clear issue with his suggestion lies in enforcement. While banning political streamers from Twitch might be feasible in theory, defining what constitutes political streaming could prove problematic. For example, Mizkif’s colleague and OTK co-founder Asmongold often incorporates political commentary into his gaming streams nowadays. If merely using a game as a starting point for discussing politics is all that’s required, many existing political streamers could likely bypass the type of ban Mizkif is proposing.
Twitch, for its part, has shown no indication of considering a ban on political content since it began allowing it. On the contrary, the platform is continuously refining its policies for such broadcasts, as most recently demonstrated by its early November 2024 decision to introduce new labels for politically charged content.
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