Hasan Banned From Twitch, Reportedly Over Use Of Term "cracker"

Update 12/13/2021: Hasan announced he will be streaming on YouTube through the duration of his Twitch ban.

Original Article: Hasan "Hasanabi" Piker was banned from Twitch in front of 40,000 viewers on Monday. According to the streamer, the ban is likely in relation to his use of the word "cracker" on stream.

Hasan responded to his ban almost immediately on Monday, claiming: "yes. it is for exactly what you think it is. anti-white racism for using the term "cracker."

The new ban follows the banning of some of his mods over the use of the term "cracker", which references America's past when white people owned black people as slaves, referring to white folks as a slave master who "cracks" a whip. Some in Hasan's stream argued this was a slur that violated Twitch's rules against hateful conduct.

Hasan first came under fire on Sunday, after defending the term on a stream. The streamer went on an extended monologue regarding the term, arguing that it is not a slur, since the people who use it are historically oppressed.

"A person calling you a cracker is powerless," Hasan argued. "They are doing it as someone who has been historically oppressed blowing off steam. You can say that is infantilizing or whatever the f*ck, but that is true. It's reality."

Twitch bans hateful conduct under their harassment rules in the community guidelines. According to Twitch, content that is prohibited under the Hateful Conduct policy includes "Using hateful slurs, either untargeted or directed towards another individual." They do make some exceptions for using terms in an empowering way or as terms of endearment, or in music that is not hateful.

Twitch has not confirmed that Hasan's ban is related to his use of "cracker". If it was, all streamers should take note that Twitch considers the term a slur, even though, as Hasan argued, there is a lot of controversy around defining the term as a "hateful slur." We will update this story as we learn more information.