On January 12, Twitch streamerJiDionencouraged several of his viewers and followers to conduct a “hate-raid” on fellow streamer Pokimane. The incident, whichresulted in Pokimane prematurely ending her stream, caused Twitch to place JiDion on a 14-day ban from the website, claiming to have violated its guidelines. This ban happened only a day after the streamer had his account verified on the website, after maintaining a prominent following on YouTube for years prior.
While initially taking the ban with stride, JiDion insisted that this scenario had nothing to do with gender, but more so had to do with how he viewed Pokimane as a person, going on to state, “you have the right to stand up for yourself, because at the end of the day we’re all equal.” However, a few days later, JiDion revealed thatTwitch has doubled downand made his ban on the website permanent.
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In a video posted to his Twitter, JiDion outlines that while his ban on Twitch should remain at 14 days as a first-time offense, admitting that he deserved to get banned, he feels that a permanent ban on his account was unfair and that his actions weren’t severe enough to justify such an action from the website. This comes shortly after other streamers on the website,such as Amouranth,alleged that Twitch needed to take its banning of channels more seriously and be more transparent about the conditions and whether they are warranted. JiDion also believes that Twitch made the ban permanent due to pressures from the streaming community, no doubt fueled by Pokimane’s stature and prominence on the platform, and the massive following that she has across social media.
Pokimane, real name Imane Anys, was already in hot water from the previous week after she too wasbanned from Twitchfor watching entire episodes of Nickelodeon’sAvatar: The Last Airbenderlive on her channel. This breaching of copyright from Nickelodeon’s parent company Viacom has now called Twitch’s copyright policy into question, which appears to be mounting a change going forward brought on by the backlash and controversy Pokimane’s actions aroused.
JiDion has concluded that he will make an effort to avoid these problems in the future should he get a second chance and have his account reinstated. That said, with how much outpouring support Pokimane has received following this development, it remains to be seen as to how this situation will be resolved and what further actions, if any,Twitchwill take.
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