Twitch deletes Black Lives Matter message following criticism it lacked Black creators

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Livestream platform Twitch has deleted a message supporting the Black Lives Matter movement after acknowledging that the video itself – which featured some of its biggest streamers – lacked diversity.

As spotted by Polygon (opens in new tab), the deleted video ran with the caption “Working together to make an impact for Black lives” and featured popular entertainers such as DrLupo, RubberNinja, and Jacksepticeye.

However, Twitch subsequently deleted the tweet after Black content creators and streamers pointed out that of the minute-long video, just 11 seconds of it featured BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Colour) voices, and just one had a spoken line featured in the message. 

We hear you. Our goal was to demonstrate the importance of allyship – a message we didn’t make clear. Only by working together can we create a positive change.July 9, 2020

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“This is a whole bucket of fail,” tweeted (opens in new tab) Twitch partner Tanya DePass. “There’s a WHOLE LOT of Black Creators on here who not only speak out on this ALL THE TIME, but don’t get any credit for it. Y’all are speaking over us. Highlight Black folks doing the work already.”

“We hear you. Our goal was to demonstrate the importance of allyship – a message we didn’t make clear,” Twitch admitted in a follow-up message. “Only by working together can we create a positive change.”

In news related to the Black Lives Matter movement, Netflix recently curated a selection of movies and TV shows under the umbrella of the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement (opens in new tab). In recent weeks, Gone with the Wind has been pulled from HBO Max (opens in new tab) (but will return with added context about its racial insensitivity), Hollywood has rallied around John Boyega (opens in new tab)after his impassioned Black Lives Matter speech in London, while Bungie even added an eight-minute and 46-second-long silence (opens in new tab) to the beginning of its Destiny 2 reveal stream in tribute to George Floyd. 

Fortnite (opens in new tab) also recently premiered “a series of conversations that advance the dialogue around race in America (opens in new tab) with prominent BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) voices in business, sports, media, music, and entertainment” yesterday at 8:46 am CDT. As our friends at PC Gamer (opens in new tab) pointed out at the time, the time is in reference to the May 2020 murder of George Floyd who was killed by a former Minneapolis police officer who pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.

For more on the Black Lives Matter movement – why it’s important, what you can do to help, and what comes next – be sure to read journalist Elle Osili-Wood’s piece here (opens in new tab).

Stay up to date with all of the latest releases with our upcoming games of 2020 (opens in new tab) list.