Twitch can use its platform to promote charities, putting them in front of viewers and helping them raise funds. Many charities partner with Twitch to drive awareness about issues and raise money to support their cause. Unfortunately, some organizations that partner with Twitch do not support great causes. They pretend to be charities, but represent something that goes against the concept of charity.
Related: How to turn Shield Mode on and off on Twitch
Twitter user piso alt! pointed out that Twitch allows the LGB Alliance to platform on Twitch. The LGB Alliance is a transphobic organization that is currently registered as a charity in the UK, though that status is currently under appeal. Twitch has not made any moves to remove the LGB Alliance from its platform, staying silent on the issue.
Another Twitter user named elliot pointed out that Twitch is also partnering with a group that claims to cure autism, Talk About Curing Autism Now. Now known as The Autism Community in Action, it is a group that labels autism as something unwanted. There is no cure for autism and it isn’t something you want to “cure”, but that is of no concern to the group.
Twitch hasn’t responded to the tweets or made any moves to take down their partnerships with these organizations. These organizations spread the opposite message that charities are trying to present to others. Not taking down these organizations and their support is tacitly admitting that Twitch either is turning a blind-eye at best, or platforming problematic organizations at best.
Twitch has had many problems with some users earlier this month, such as implementing Shield Mode after streamers were harassed. But Twitch has come along way, creating a charity tool to help streamers connect with charities and improve their results. The fact that these two organizations are still partnered with Twitch shows how far the decline has gone.
Fortunately, there is still time for Twitch to make the right move and kick these groups out. The gaming community is nice and inviting, and there isn’t a reason to let someone back in if they are just picking a fight.
