Former Twitch Director of Creator Development, Marcus ‘djWHEAT’ Graham, spoke out about popular streamer Imane ‘Pokimane’ Anys’ shocking ban earlier in 2022, calling it one of the “stupidest” he’s seen on the platform.
The Twitch react meta – sometimes known as the ‘TV show meta’ – has been quite a controversial subject for a few months. Some streamers, such as xQc, have been able to stream shows like Master Chef and react with their thoughts to the tune of thousands of viewers.
Other streamers, however, have been hit with bans in violation of DMCA rules. This includes Pokimane, in one of the most surprising suspensions ever seen on Twitch, given her clean track record.
Speaking to his chat about the react meta, djWHEAT slammed Pokimane for partaking when she chose to watch Avatar: The Last Airbender on Twitch.
djWHEAT says Pokimane’s Twitch ban was “stupid”
While watching a YouTube documentary about Twitch’s DMCA issues, djWHEAT discussed Pokimane’s suspension and how shocked he was that she risked a ban to stream Avatar.
“It still goes down as one of the stupidest things I’ve ever seen on Twitch!” he blasted. “Like, literally. Not afraid to say it. Was shocked that someone as large as Poki and as representative as a role model and runs a talent agency… actually one of the stupidest f**king things I’ve seen in the history of the platform.”
He went on to address that, while she wasn’t the only one to get in hot water over the react meta, the fact it was Pokimane seemed to be extremely bizarre.
“I could never understand why anyone would ever take the risk. I don’t get it,” he explained.
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Ex Twitch employee explains problem with DMCA bans
Graham further commented on the way some streamers view getting short bans as ‘mini-vacations,’ and how it’s a hard issue for Twitch to deal with.
“This is a huge problem when it comes to Twitch, when it comes to moderation, when it comes to enforcement, when it comes to punishment,” he added. “Twitch does need creators, does need the revenue that comes from creators’ audiences. So it’s a weird spot Twitch gets put into.”
According to the former Twitch employee, streamers have taken punishments and turned them into a “money-making opportunity,” and he has no idea how to fix the situation.
“It’s f**ked that someone can get banned and come back and get 5,000 subs!” he roared after suggesting Twitch look into harsher punishments for those who break the site’s rules, but noted that there is no easy fix.
We’ll have to see how Twitch ends up dealing with this ongoing problem, but the solution seems to be more complicated than many believe.
