Twitch slammed as ‘absolutely disgusting’ for supporting anti-trans charity LGB Alliance
Many people have been shocked that Twitch has not commented for days on the issue. (Pink News)
Live streaming service Twitch is under fire after adding anti-trans lobby group LGB Alliance to its list of charities streamers can fundraise for.
Twitch introduced its charity fundraising tool in July 2022 and in a tweet on 7 December claimed to have more than 130,000 charities around the world on board.
At the time of writing, Twitch’s charity list on its website is not available.
But LGB Alliance still appears as an option on the platform itself, according to The Gamer.
Having LGB Alliance added as a charity did not go down well on social media.
One Twitter user said “platforming a trans hate group … is absolutely disgusting”.
They went on to say they “can’t believe” LGB Alliance made the charity list at all and “needs to be removed immediately”.
Another urged people to “not let this slide”, their tweet receiving almost 32,000 likes and about 12,000 retweets.
A number of other people on social media also called out Twitch for including Autism Speaks, a United States charity with a controversial history – including, up until 2016, having “seeking a cure” for the disorder as part of its mission statement.
One gamer simply asked Twitch, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING”.
A poll was set up on Twitch’s public feedback forum, UserVoice, on 8 December by user JessPlayGame, arguing both LGB Alliance and Austism Speaks “are not charities”.
The poll has since been voted for more than 15,700 times.
Other users in the forum were shocked Twitch has not commented on the matter after a number of days.
PinkNews has contacted Twitch for comment.
Even if Twitch makes no changes following the public reaction, it would not necessarily mean LGB Alliance remains on the platform.
The group’s charitable status has been appealed, with a number of tribunal hearings taking place over September and November this year.
Trans children’s charity Mermaids made arguments on 7 November, where king’s counsel Michael Gibbon said LGB Alliance had LGBTQ+ organisations like Mermaids and Stonewall on “a hit list”.
In a statement supporting Mermaids, Good Law Project said “charitable status is for those who serve the public good”.
“Campaigning to limit legal protections for trans people and criticising those who speak for them we believe to be the very opposite of a public good.”
The tribunal’s decision is expected in early 2023, according to openDemocracy.
