Twitch removes LGB Alliance from approved charities list
Streaming service Twitch has confirmed the removal of LGB Alliance from its list of available charities, following backlash from users who accused the platform of supporting transphobia by allowing users to fundraise for the organisation.
Disgusting. Vet your “charities”. pic.twitter.com/NSJeFzqeFl
— 🎄Fiona🎄 (📌GFM) (@FioDeer) December 8, 2022
Twitch, like TikTok and Instagram, has implemented their own unique tool to help creators raise money for charities, without having to engage with an external platform.
Adding to a long list of available charities, on December 7, the streamer added more options, two of which provoked anger from users.
The first being LGB Alliance, the trans-exclusionary organisation which has been widely labelled a ‘hate group’ online, and in some parts of the world, officially listed as such.
The other being Autism Speaks, a controversial autism charity which has faced criticism on a number of problematic positions, including touting for a “cure”.
In response to feedback posted in Twitch’s forums, an admin said:
“Following a thorough review, [Twitch] have removed the LGB Alliance from [their] list of approved charities”.
Going on to say that, “Twitch does not allow charities that violate our hateful conduct policies… or whose organization or leadership engage in, or promote, behaviours that violate our Off-Service policy”.
“We include a wide range of organizations in Twitch’s charity tool through our partnership with the PayPal Giving Fund so that streamers can choose which charities they align with and wish to support. Inclusion on this list is not an endorsement from Twitch”, the statement continued.
“However, we regularly review the list and remove organizations that violate our policies. Please continue to share your feedback to help us improve charity on Twitch.”
However, at the time of writing, Autism Speaks, is still listed as an available charity, despite its controversial history.
Autism Speaks has been criticised by advocates and the wider autism community for framing people with autism as burdens.
It has also described its goal as searching for a ‘cure’ to Autism, as well as endorsing the ridiculous notion that vaccines cause Autism.
Twitch has said that Autism Speaks “does not violate our Off-Service policy”, adding that the “scale of this program may mean that people within our community may not agree with or support all of the included organizations, even if they are currently compliant with our policies”.
Twitch has a lot of LGBTQ+ users, but has also been notorious for being a space where anti-LGBT rhetoric is rampant. In September 2021, Twitch announced it was adding new verification tools to fight harassment on the platform, as well as banning 15 million bot accounts, in the hope it might “reduce the number of channels” impacted by abuse.
However earlier this year, reports of hate raids directed at LGBTQ+ streamers saw a sharp increase across Twitch.
Taking to Twitter (March 12), the service said: “Over the past 24 hours, bad actors have been coordinating off-Twitch to target women and LGBTQ+ members of our community with spammy and hateful chat messages. Hate has no place on Twitch, and we’ve identified and suspended the Twitch accounts of the individuals participating.”
In s second tweet, the message continued: “Our Safety team is actively reviewing reports and suspending users in violation of our TOS. Our legal team is also involved and actively investigating. We’ve taken legal action against those who’ve harassed our community in the past and continue to take these activities seriously”.