Beginning with the Obama administration in 2009 and continuing forward, years of Democrat rule have significantly impacted life in America. At first, considering the consistent development of society, the ideas of social justice, including racial and gender equity, became the main focus of the contemporary Democratic Party. Its contribution was so significant that even four years of Donald Trump’s first term couldn’t reverse the state of affairs and, at some point, even fell victim to what later evolved into the ill-fated DEI and WOKE ideologies during the Biden-Harris administration.
Almost 15 years ago, against the backdrop of rapidly evolving computer technologies and the internet, the world witnessed dramatic changes, particularly in the entertainment industry. Video games' extensive spread and improved quality made live-streaming platforms like Twitch extremely popular. Along with charismatic hosts and the insufficient affordability of mid-range and high-end computer hardware needed to experience content with maxed-out graphics, this preconditioned that broadcasts began attracting thousands of viewers. Usually, the audience comprises younger people, gamers, and fans.
It is worth noting that Twitch has never officially claimed any political affiliation nor endorsed any political party. So, one might wonder what a live-streaming platform for primarily gamers has to do with the world of big politics. The answer is plenty. Much more than one might expect at first glance. It allows for interaction with younger Americans, and this engagement can have significant long-term consequences.
Twitch’s parent company is Amazon, which is well known for supporting the Democratic Party. Unsurprisingly, prominent figures like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Kamala Harris have widely used the platform for their respective campaigns in 2020 and 2024.
Over the years, Twitch has amassed a vast audience. According to an Adam Connel report Twitch remains the No.1 live-streaming platform with a 60-65% market share in 2024. While there has been a slight decline from 76% in 2022 and 67% in 2020, absolute viewership numbers have continued to grow as the market has expanded significantly. Thousands watch live streams daily, and millions tune in when highly anticipated video games are released.
Twitch was caught in a series of politically motivated scandals in October. A famous YouTuber and streamer, Asmongold (real name Zack Hoyt), expressed his personal opinion on the Israel-Palestine conflict during one of his broadcasts. He said he was against extensive support for Arabs among Americans because of significant differences between Christians and Muslims, particularly in their approaches to religion and way of life.
Asmongold’s point of view was baselessly labeled as “a racist rant” by pro-Palestine activists and caused a two-week channel ban. Sometime later, Arab supporters even forced the streamer to apologize for having such an opinion and making it public, even though it wasn’t offending anyone or promoting hatred and xenophobia.
That very episode resembles the approach of the contemporary Democratic Party to the freedom of speech when it comes to GOP supporters. Just like in the mainstream media, conservative opinions are considered ”racist, fascist, and unacceptable.” One might reckon that this incident is a perfect image of the Democrats’ version of freedom of speech, where only one kind of speech is truly free while any other opinion that does not fit the agenda must be silenced.
The case wouldn’t have drawn so much attention if not for Twitch’s consistent support for pro-Palestine streamers and other actions aimed against Israel. First of all, during a TwitchCon event on September 21, 2023, there was a controversial panel hosted by Twitch partner Frogan, a 27-year-old woman from Detroit, Michigan, whose real name is Morgan, along with several pro-Palestinian streamers.
They made the “Loves Sabra” rating system for other content creators. The point was to distribute broadcasters from the highest category – “Arab” to the lowest – “Loves Sabra,” referring to a U.S.-based entity, Sabra Dipping Company, that produces Middle Eastern-style food products.
The term “Loves Sabra” could also be interpreted as a reference to a Jew born in Israel. Anyway, despite calling it a “meme” event, it was openly antisemitic. Following backlash from conservative political commentators, Twitch had to finally ban some of the Arab-streamers who attended the panel. Moreover, that terrible show had considerable energy, tech, and gaming companies such as Chevron, Samsung, Capcom, and AT&T as sponsors mentioned in the stand just behind the speakers.
Another strong indicator of Twitch’s political stance is the company’s attitude towards one of the most viewed broadcasters, Hasan Piker, also known as Hasanabi. He is well-known for his radical left sentiment. Back in 2019, during a live stream, Hasan said that “America deserved 9/11,” and later, he restated that opinion. That commentator repeatedly claimed that “Israel is an apartheid state illegally occupying Palestinian land.” Additionally, during a “Leftover” podcast with Ethan Klein he also justified the horrific terror attack carried out by Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023.
According to Influence Watch, Hasan Piker ranks among the top 25 Twitch streamers,with his audience primarily aged 16 to 25. Surprisingly, Hasanabi was never banned or anyhow affected because of his openly anti-Israel and anti-American statements, even though Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) called for a probe on November 6 . Moreover, Twitch’s Clancy and the company’s staff made an exclusive birthday greeting video specifically for Hasan. What is it? If not, is it an obvious sign of sympathy from the platform’s board?
The anti-Israel effort was not limited to Twitch streamers’ content only. In October 2024 it became public that Twitch banned users from Israel from registering on the platform. They had forbidden users from Palestine as well, yet the pro-Palestine content still appeared. It became clear the company is not neutral anymore, and something had to be done to ensure hate speech and antisemitism do not take over Twitch and youth as a result.
The Anti-Defamation League, a U.S.-based watchdog, got in a game and began its investigation against way-too leftish streamers. In a post on X, October 22, the ADL found that many pro-Palestinian American streamers like Frogan made inappropriate statements insulting U.S. veterans and acting military. On November 15, the ADL criticized Hasan Piker for his anti-Israeli comments about the Amsterdam pogrom.
At first, Clancy and Twitch seemed to understand how far they had gone and acted as if they were going to fix it. Frogan, as well as some other commentators, were banned On October 22, the same day, the ADL pointed to her misconduct in an extensive statement on X. On November 1, Twitch updated its policy and guidelines to ensure content that violated the rules gets banned. However, on November 21, Frogan and all others were unbanned and continued to spread their narratives. Twitch only pretended to fix the antisemitism issue instead of taking the problem seriously.
Some may have forgotten, but two years ago, when Elon Musk purchased Twitter (now X), Twitch allegedly conspired in an advertising boycott against Twitter, a so-called “adpocalypse.” Musk even said on November 19, 2022, that he would sue Twitch because of these allegations.
Perhaps Clancy thought his superior – Amazon – would resolve that incident with the ADL without having to establish order on Twitch. This never happened, and the ADL went further and informed Twitch's leading advertisers of what was going on and what kind of content giants Chevron and AT&T sponsored. That effort was quite successful, and by December 5, 2022, Clancy confirmed the platform was dealing with its own “adpocalypse” as some significant’ advertisers pulled ads.
Now, when the Democrats’ era is over with Trump’s landslide victory, larger companies feel the shifting trend and scale back DEI initiatives that got little positive feedback among ordinary Americans. Walmart, NASDAQ, and others are swiftly turning back to widely welcome conservative ideas. Under such circumstances, it appears strange that tech giants like Amazon and its subsidiary Twitch desperately refuse to accept the reality that we, the people, have given up on WOKE.
What is happening with Twitch is another reminder that the struggle between major political forces are not over and are being transformed into other domains. The GOP managed to win the battle for adults by defeating the legacy mainstream media with alternative ones like X; however, the struggle for youth is ahead.
That is, the Democrats are trying to reach out to younger Americans via content, video games, movies, and live streams with WOKE and DEI narratives that are often anti-American. Now, after most adult U.S. citizens have made their choice and brought Donald Trump back to the Oval Office, the question remains open: whether to take the challenge and, if so, what to do precisely to ensure that the response respects the law and is efficient at the same time.
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