Amazon-owned livestreaming platform Twitch has banned the iconic “PogChamp” emote, one of the most influential memes to come from the service, on Wednesday following comments about the Capitol Hill protests by the streamer depicted in the emote.
The Verge reports that popular livestreaming service Twitch has banned the “PogChamp” emote this week after the streamer depicted in the emote published tweets that the Amazon-owned platform claims were “encouraging further violence” following the protests at the U.S. Capitol.
Professional Street Fighter player Ryan “Gootecks” Gutierrez, whose exaggerated facial expression was immortalized with the “PogChamp” emote, questioned on Wednesday whether there would be further civil unrest following the shooting of a protestor on Capitol Hill or if her death would be “in vain.”
PS Big Brother Twitter wouldn’t let me post the url so if you don’t think big tech censorship is real, there you go ♂️
— gootecks (@gootecks) January 6, 2021
Following his comment, Twitch announced plans to remove the emote following “statements from the face of the emote encouraging further violence.”
We want the sentiment and use of Pog to live on – its meaning is much bigger than the person depicted or image itself– and it has a big place in Twitch culture. However, we can't in good conscience continue to enable use of the image.
— Twitch (@Twitch) January 7, 2021
We will work with the community to design a new emote for the most hype moments on Twitch.
— Twitch (@Twitch) January 7, 2021
The PogChamp emote is one of the oldest and most widely used emotes on Twitch. It generally indicates excitement or celebration and is heavily engrained in Twitch’s online culture. PogChamp or “poggers” has become a universally used term in gaming culture and “Poggers” has become a general internet meme expressing surprise in recent years.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com
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