Outrage Flares as Elon Musk Accuses HasanAbi of ‘Encouraging Slaying’
It’s become a hot topic of conversation, spurred on by Elon Musk’s claim of ‘enticing to slaying,’ an incident that has sparked outrage and discussion far and wide. This all began when old videos of Piker’s well-viewed livestreams started trending anew on various social media platforms, casting a fresh spotlight on the enforcement ethics of Twitch. On the 12th day of September, a social media user shared a video, just two minutes in length, that showcased several of Piker’s controversial excerpts from prior broadcasts where he and a colleague utter provocative remarks.
‘Exterminate them! Eradicate those reprobates! Slaughter those villains right in the streets! Let our roads, be awash in their crimson capitalist fluids, folks.’ In these words, Piker incited an extreme response in one clip. Another equally disturbing video from 2022 presented Piker voicing similar sentiments, encouraging liberals to ‘eviscerate’ any rivals. As these statements were recirculated, they were seized upon by his adversaries and subsequently used to discredit him.
The post containing these clips quickly garnered widespread attention. Musk responded by sharing these videos once more but appended them with a simple but effective comment: ‘Encouragement to slaying.’ Gaming industry heavyweight Mark ‘Grummz’ Kern backed him up, advocating for a complete and sustained ban on HasanAbi by Twitch.
This solicited a barrage of heated discussions across multiple social media platforms. Advocates of this viewpoint maintain that Twitch is in a position where it cannot disregard the potentially harmful speech that could incite violence in the real world. Conversely, followers of Piker assert that he is a left-leaning commentator who employs satire in his discourse, and his provocative language has been misinterpreted and blown out of proportion.
With a colossal following of almost 3 million and more than 54,000 active subscribers, HasanAbi is one of the most powerful voices on the Twitch platform. However, he hasn’t been without critique and has been called out for the inconsistent application of Twitch’s content policies by his detractors. As a result, the platform finds itself under scrutiny with regards to their moderation of political speech.
The current dispute underscores an ongoing struggle for upholding freedom of expression in the online world. There are voices advocating for the control of speech that could potentially instigate harm in the real world. Yet, others perceive this regulation of political expression as a hazardous path.