Twitch is no stranger to controversies, from streamers getting banned to larger scale things. In fact, over the past few years, there have been hateful attacks streamed on the platform, such as aGermany Synagogue shooting in 2019 that was shown for nearly 35 minutes. Discord is being investigated alongside Twitch due to its alleged role in propagating the hatred shown by the shooter. New York’s attorney general Letitia James announced that there will be an investigation intoTwitchand Discord following a racially motivated mass shooting in Buffalo on May 14.
James' investigation believes that the streaming and messaging platforms had a role to play in promoting the shooter and the hateful motivations behind the attack. Notably, theshooting was streamed live on Twitchfor two minutes before the video was taken down. However, it is believed by James that the ability for a shooter to stream their act of violence is “bone-chilling” and “unfathomable.” While 4chan and 8chan were where the shooter discussed their plans for the attack, he had promoted his plans via Discord too, leading James to dive deep into the social media of the shooter and reveal “the depths and danger of the online forums that spread and promote hate.”
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Allegedly, the shooter was able to plan their attack on 4chan, 8chan, and Discord for months without any prior investigation. Both Discord andTwitchhave stated that they will support the investigations of law enforcement agencies. It is currently unknown how long the investigation into Twitch and Discord will last, but it seems that James wishes to ensure that by the end of her findings there are significant preventative measures to stop something like this from happening in the future.
It seems that despiteTwitch’s goals to increase moderationon its content and ban users more effectively for breaching its guidelines, there is still work to be done. Social media and messaging platforms such as Discord appear to be the primary target for James' investigation, as they led to the publication of a 180-page document that was posted by the shooter, outlining their extremist beliefs and hateful motivations.
Platforms typically associated with gaming have often been perceived as places where hate can thrive. However, in recent times video game companies have taken major steps to ensure that the content on their platforms is heavily moderated. Xbox boss Phil Spencer, for example, has stated on multiple occasions thatXbox is not a place for free speech. Sony, too, has been looking into removing trolls, toxic, and hateful players from its online community for years.
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