Streaming platform Twitch banned several high-profile Arab streamers during a panel held at TwitchCon last month. Banned streamers include CapriSunnPapi, Fr0gan, Raffoult ticket, DenimTVAND Hello (who is not Arab), all of whom participated in a live-streamed panel during the second day of TwitchCon in San Diego titled “Rating Streamers”, during which they placed popular Twitch personalities on a list of people who can and cannot say ” habibi” – an Arabic word meaning “friend” or “beloved.”
The 30-day bans were issued seemingly simultaneously and came after days of social media dialogue accusing several Arab and pro-Palestinian Twitch streamers of anti-Semitism. AND clip of Fr0gan saying she “hopes” American soldiers will develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). during the livestream, it was shared on X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit, and commented on by YouTuber Ethan Klein and Steven Kenneth Bonnell II, aka Destiny.
On October 20, Fr0gan apologized to X, writing:
the US military has committed some of the most terrible crimes against humanity in the modern era in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine. My anger is directed at those who are currently advocating for these war crimes as if they were “liberating.” my people. it’s terrible and disgusting. the beginning of the clip was poorly worded, for which I apologize. In the recording, I explain that I do not mean “all” military personnel, but specifically those who have no remorse. I said this out of frustration because they are currently bombarding my family in the name of “liberation”. I realize that wishing people harm is not the best way to talk about these issues and that I could have talked about these topics in a more sensitive way.
However, it appears that Fr0gan was banned not for what she said in her more recent stream, but instead because of the September 21 Streamer Ratings panel. During the panel discussion, streamers used a popular internet meme called a tier list, in which the top tier is the “best”, in this case the person for whom the use of “habibi” is most acceptable, and the lowest tier is the least acceptable. During the TwitchCon panel, the levels were labeled “Coded Arab, asks for permission, thinks it’s an insult, and loves Sabra,” a reference to Sabra Hummus, a popular brand of hummus produced in the United States. VOD of the entire second day of TwitchCon (when the ratings broadcast was broadcast) has been removed from the GivePlz Twitch channel, which hosts all TwitchCon videos. The video is still available on the Ayyrabs YouTube page.
Fr0gan, Capri and Raffoul are Arabs (Fr0gan is Muslim, Raffoul is Jewish, and Capri is Christian) and together they host a podcast called Ayyrabs. DenimsTV is Arab and Vio is from the Middle East. Two other streamers who briefly participated in the panel were not Arab or Middle Eastern. They were not banned at the time of publication.
Wave of bans (which also seemed to include a indefinite ban on popular streamer Sneakowhich Klein mentioned in his October 19 YouTube video as an example of someone who should not have been allowed to return to Twitch) occurred while Klein was streaming. “30-day ban for telling people they like bottom of the barrel hummus, but others get 2 WEEKS for calling for genocide of Palestinians. “I understood” Fr0gan posted on X after the announcement of the bans, citing Twitch bans streamer Zack “Asmongold” Hoyt for 14 days after he said in a recent stream that Muslims come from an “inferior culture” and that he “will not cry a damn river when people whose genocide is written into their law become genocidal.”
Capri also reacted to his banwriting: “Ngl I’ll take a few days off and come back live and hummus ranking to prove I’m right. #hummusgate“on X
Before the ban was introduced, but during heated online dialogue about the panel’s alleged anti-Semitism, Raffoul, who is Jewish, wrote on X“These motherfuckers are so anti-Semitic that I created the ‘who can say habibi’ list and they’re trying to spin it as ‘frog rankings of people from Arab to Jew’ keep Jews out of your fucking mouth.”
On October 21 this year Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released on October that he spoke with Twitch employees “after learning of several incidents on the social media platform and/or involving Twitch streamers in the past week.”
“We appreciate it @Cramp making the right decision to finally suspend streamer Frogan for abusing her platform and @TwitchCon an event designed to spread anti-Semitic vitriol at a time of intense concern for the Jewish community,” the official ADL account posted in the thread. “@Cramp “They must learn from this situation and improve how they deal with anti-Semitism and hate on their platform, which is an ongoing and significant challenge.”
It is unclear why Twitch decided to issue a ban on a panel that took place a month ago, of which the company was aware of the content, My city confirmed. During TwitchCon 2024, the company highlighted that after announcing news on the platform, “there is no room for hateful conduct.” changes and progress to its prohibition policy.
My city I have reached out to ADL and Twitch for comment and will update this story accordingly.
Updated: 21/10/2024 at 23:20 ET: Updated story with more context regarding the Sneako ban.
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