Hasan Piker Disappeared From Twitch Suddenly After He Said the Word "Cracker"

Streamers are heavily reliant on platforms to publish their content, which means they also have to be careful about following the guidelines of the platform that they use. Hasan Piker is the latest streamer to run afoul of his platform, Twitch, and now, many are wondering what Hasan did that led him to disappear from the platform on Dec. 13.

Hasan is a popular Twitch streamer who streams under the name HasanAbi. He's known for playing video games and discussing politics and the news. Hasan has millions of followers on Twitch and tens of millions of views, and he's also wracked up more than 100 million views on YouTube. Following his ban, many are naturally wondering why the popular Twitch streamer has been pulled from the platform.

Hasan has claimed that he was banned for "anti-white racism" after he used the term "cracker" during a stream. In a tweet, Hasan said, "It is for exactly what you think it is. Anti-white racism for using the term 'cracker.'"

Twitch hasn't formally shared its reasons for banning Hasan, which isn't atypical for the wildly popular streaming service.

In its terms of service, though, Twitch explicitly bans hateful and racist content.

"We will take action on all instances of hateful conduct and harassment," the policy states. "The most egregious violations may result in an indefinite suspension on the first offense."

It seems, then, that Hasan and Twitch may have a difference of opinion over whether the term he used was worthy of an indefinite suspension.

It's unclear when Hasan might return to Twitch if he does it all. Thanks to his very popular YouTube channel, Hasan is not entirely reliant on Twitch to earn a living.

In another tweet, Hasan said that he had plans for some "fire content" that he'll no longer be able to do because of the ban. Some of those plans included playing Halo Infinite, building a gingerbread house, and a hot tub stream with fellow streamer Amouranth, who has also been previously banned from the platform.

In addition to streaming about games, Hasan is also known for hosting frequently political discussions, and used to appear on The Young Turks, and left-wing YouTube channel focused on politics. Hasan initially made the transition over to Twitch in part to reach a younger audience, and it seems that gambit largely paid off.

This isn't the first time that Hasan has faced a ban from Twitch. In fact, he's been banned twice before for similar reasons, and has always returned to the platform to continue discussing politics and his view of the world.

Given his firebrand reputation, and his insistence on explicitly discussing his political views, Hasan is always going to run the risk of being moderated or even banned by the platforms he uses. That's the price he pays for the content he pushes out, which has made him an enormously popular figure on the left.