Twitch has removed the popular PogChamp emote from its platform following “statements from the face of the emote encouraging further violence after what took place in the Capitol today.”
Ryan “Gootecks” Gutierrez, whose face has been one of the emotes most synonymous with Twitch, tweeted at 4:22pm CT about the woman who was shot and killed during a siege of the United States Capitol. He asked if there would be “civil unrest” for the “martyr” that was “executed,” which prompted the removal of PogChamp and variations of the emote.
Twitch said it wants “the sentiment and use of Pog to live on,” although it “can’t in good conscience continue to enable use of the image.” The site said it will design a new emote for the “most hype moments on Twitch” in collaboration with its community.
Other social media platforms have been cracking down on the spread of harmful information in response to the violence in Washington, D.C. today. After hundreds forcefully occupied the Capitol building, President Donald Trump released a video that included praise of the mob. The video, along with other tweets of unfounded conspiracy theories, were removed by Twitter and led to a 12-hour lock of his account.
Gutierrez, an outspoken critic of Twitter and other social media platforms, said “Big Brother Twitter” would not let him post a link to the video of the moments after the now-deceased woman was shot in the Capitol building.
