A streamer on Twitch named G5_Sin reacted extremely aggressively to criticism of his methods. He displayed a gun live on Twitch and threatened another streamer that he would abduct him to New York and beat him up on the street. The threatened streamer reported G5_Sin, but heard nothing from Twitch for a month. Only after a larger streamer pushed the issue did the ban come.
What was the streamer criticized for?
- G5_Sin is a small streamer on Twitch with about 40 viewers on average, who apparently uses some strange methods to grow.
- It is said that G5_Sin makes “watch me, then I’ll watch you” deals with even smaller streamers, but does not necessarily stick to the deals. This is known as a “support for support” streamer.
- A colleague of the streamer, JTX_Live, who also entertains about 40 viewers, has addressed and criticized this behavior in YouTube videos. He has dealt with dubious methods that some streamers use to grow – such as fake giveaways (via youtube).
Streamers can get banned on Twitch for misconduct:
Streamer reacts to criticism of him with clear threats of violence
This is how G5_Sin reacted: The streamer referred to himself in a stream as a rap star and addressed the critic directly. This is reported by the site Kotaku. Videos of the incidents have now been deleted:
JTX, I’m going to beat the shit out of you so hard that your mother cries, bro. And if you don’t have a mother – you bum, I’m going to make your next of kin cry.
The streamer also said about the British streamer
I’m going to fly this motherfucker to New York City, to Manhattan. There’s no police there. I’m flying this guy to Manhattan and I’m taking him to an alley – do you think the cops care if I beat him up?
Threatened British streamer reports to Twitch – But Twitch does nothing for a month
This is how JTX reacted: He reported these streams to Twitch. The British streamer said: He actually intended to fly to the USA, but after the threats, he is more careful about whom he shares an address with.
Moreover, he did not want such behavior, simply threatening violence in response to criticism, to go unchecked on Twitch. Such behavior could frighten other users so much that they might disappear from Twitch forever, JTX believes.
This is how Twitch reacted: They did nothing for a month.
G5 was able to continue streaming for a month and explained on Twitter: He did not draw the weapon as a threat at all: One should ask much more what JTX actually did to provoke such a reaction. The video was edited in a misleading way.
Only when a larger streamer dealt with the case and critically inquired on Twitter why the streamer had not yet been banned did the Twitch ban suddenly come.
BBjess has about 640 viewers on average.
Twitch responds strongly to pressure on social media once again
This is so strange: The strange thing about this incident is that Twitch seems to respond strongly to social media pressure: If anything even remotely receives pressure on Twitter, Twitch seems to react immediately by issuing or revoking bans:
- For example, the streamer MontanaBlack was banned, after a clip of his Malta vacation went viral.
- The Twitch streamer Clix was banned, but then unbanned after fans united on Twitter.
The prioritization of when a ban occurs also seems questionable:
With many “minor issues” that receive attention, Twitch bans immediately. For example, even with minor violations of the platform’s absurd clothing rules.
But precisely in such a serious case, where weapons are shown, Twitch seems to take an exceptionally long time to act.
This is also concerning because Twitch has already been linked to mass shootings and attacks.
But apparently for Twitch, showing a weapon is not a serious problem – while they immediately swing the ban hammer for a bit of bare lower back or – God forbid – the hint of a breast.
Sometimes the bans are very strange:
