May 25, 2025 09:03 AM IST
Hasan Piker, aka HasanAbi, was banned from Twitch after he made posts about the Israeli embassy staff shooter, Elias Rodriguez’s motive
Hasan Piker, aka HasanAbi, was banned from Twitch after he made posts about the Israeli embassy staff shooter, Elias Rodriguez’s motive. The streamer issued a statement acknowledging the ban, and asking the streaming service to ‘change this policy’.
The 33-year-old was already under fire following the shooting in Washington, DC that left two Israeli embassy staff members dead. Just two days before the incident, Piker hosted a live stream featuring George ‘Bad Empanada’ Ganitis, who has repeatedly made comments against Israelis.
Piker admitted that he did a ‘critical examination’ of the suspect Rodriguez’s manifesto.
In a notice to Piker, Twitch said that it ‘requires all users to ensure that anything shared on their account abides by Twitch’s Terms of Service and Community Guidelines’.
“Based on a review of your activity or content, we have issued a global suspension on your account. As a result, your access to Twitch services is temporarily restricted. Please be aware that repeated violations may lead to more serious actions on your account, including longer temporary suspensions or permanent suspension,” the notice added.
In the reason section, the company mentioned ‘Improper Handling of Terrorist Propaganda Sharing content related to terrorist or violent extremist groups’.
Acknowledging the situation, the streamer said: “I covered the motives of the israeli embassy staff shooter. twitch tos dictates a suspension for even critical examination of the manifesto. i believe this is a bad policy for news and press freedom. I’ll take the suspension, but hope twitch changes this policy in the future.”
Earlier this week, a suspect fatally shot two Israeli embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum. The 31-year-old Chicago man accused of Wednesday’s attack shouted “Free Palestine” as he was taken away by police.
Authorities in Washington said they were investigating the shooting “as an act of terrorism and as a hate crime” ahead of a preliminary court hearing set for alleged killer Elias Rodriguez on June 18.
