Twitch is a video live streaming service mostly focusing on video game live-streams, such as esports competitions. It also offers music broadcasts, in real life streams which allow viewers to see the creator in an outside setting besides their desk, and creative content. However, there are content creators that use the platform and create a negative effect on their audience.
Influential streamers on Twitch
Andrew Tate is one of the most influential streamers on Twitch. Tate is currently banned on Youtube due to remarks he made about fighting women saying he would “grip her up by the neck” in videos as well. This also caused him to be banned on his Twitch channel TateSpeech and andrewtatelive.
“I have only watched him a few times when he does interviews on other Youtube channels, but when I have watched him, I don’t think the stuff he says is that bad,” Tyler Carroll, sophomore marketing major, said.
Tate has a very large following of younger adults and teenagers. However, he also has a lot of viewers who take issue with his commentary. He has also been banned on Instagram, and TikTok for hate speech over the summer of 2017, Tate was banned permanently on Twitter for violating its terms of service, but since then has reportedly snuck back onto the platform with fake accounts.
“I watch a good amount of videos with him involved in them, whether it is his personal account before his ban or other accounts that have him as a feature,” Nate Mazurek, Sophomore digital communication and social media major, said.”He says a lot of controversial stuff though I do agree to that, but I can see how he inspires other people with the things he says.”
Tate began his career as a Kickboxing champion but gave that career up to pursue a career in the webcam business with his brother, Tristan, called myfreecams. He is known for making his opinion known despite it being controversial or offensive, making comments such as “Women can’t drive” and “Men can cheat but women can’t.” Tate is also known by his fanbase as “The King of Toxic Masculinity.”
“The stuff he says is messed up in my opinion, he always describes women as being not as good as men,” said Julianna Wible, junior education major.
Another streamer and his influence
Another Twitch streamer with a lot of influence over young audiences is Adin Ross. Ross started using the streaming service in 2018, but his following began to grow when he consistently posted NBA 2k basketball games in 2020. Since then, he has changed up his content offering interviews with other celebrities, going on chat sites and recording the discussions on Twitch.
AdinRoss live on Twitch. Photo by Jake Cavanaugh.Ross has a large effect on his audience with his words and actions when he’s streaming alone and the way he portrays himself or how he portrays himself with other people on a stream. Ross was banned on Twitch in April 2021 following an online altercation, with streamer Ziasnobody, where a homophobic slur was used.
He was unbanned shortly after because he defended himself saying he didn’t make the remarks. A year later in April 2022, Ross was banned indefinitely due to the use of “hateful slurs or symbols.” Ross used a homophobic slur on a streamer yourRAGE livestream.
“I personally do not watch Adin Ross. I have never been a fan of his content or found him particularly funny,” Mazurek said. “I’ve only seen his stuff a couple of times on other channels, but my younger brothers watch his content, and you can tell it is having some effect on them just by the stuff they say.”
Ross interviewed high-profile and controversial celebrities, such as Andrew Tate, multiple rappers, and it is rumored that he will interview Kanye West in the future.
“Adin is pretty funny to be honest, I’ve seen a couple of his interviews,” Carroll said. “I can understand some of his influence as being considered a ‘negative influence’ because a lot of what he does is to try to get a laugh or go viral for something.”
Ross is currently unbanned on all social media platforms but is on thin ice for most of his accounts. His latest ban was in June 2022. Tate has still been banned on multiple social media platforms indefinitely but continues to still use some platforms by making fake accounts to post his message.
