Twitch has been cracking down on streamers who share misinformation on the platform as of late, but that has now extended to weeding out those who spread Russian propaganda amidst their invasion of Ukraine alongside Belarus.
"While we have continued to see low volumes of harmful misinformation actors on Twitch, we have suspended several violative channels under this policy, including some who were specifically dedicated to spreading misinformation related to the crisis in Ukraine," Twitch said (as reported by Financial Times). "TTP's findings reveal major holes in Twitch's policy enforcement at a time of heavy Russian misinformation about the war in Ukraine.
"Amazon's enormous resources give it ample means to better monitor Twitch, which is one of the most popular livestreaming platforms today and reaches a vast audience of young people."
Twitch banned these accounts in lieu of the Tech Transparency Project's report which highlighted accounts sharing key Russian propaganda points such as that the invasion was being carried out to "de-Nazify" Ukraine, and that there were "biolabs" being set up in the country. Not only were these accounts sharing these falsehoods, but they were monetised meaning that they were making money by sharing this propaganda.
One account, InfaredShow, was even verified, giving them further monetisation: "Twitch has deemed this account worthy of being part of their partnership program," TTP director Katie Paul said. "So much so that Twitch is covering the costs of the payouts for someone who's repeatedly streamed misinformation."
However, Financial Times reached out on Wednesday about the specific accounts mentioned in TTP's report, leading to Infrared and others being banned. But Twitch declined to say why they had been banned, citing that it wanted to "protect the privacy of individuals involved." But these accounts are quickly migrating to other platforms such as YouTube where similar repercussions have yet to take place while they continue to share misinformation.
But on a more positive note, the gaming industry as a whole has managed to raise a staggering $200 million for Ukraine in only a matter of weeks. This is made up of money from The Pokemon Company, Bandai Namco, Epic Games, Ubisoft, CD Projekt Red, Xbox, and more. While many are spreading propaganda online, many are also donating directly or through video games to lend aid to Ukraine.