Twitch has updated its Hateful Conduct policy to prohibit users from branding others a “Zionist.”
Zionism is a nationalist movement that advocates for the establishment of a Jewish nation in Israel and Palestine. In a blog post, Twitch explained that there is no restriction against discussing Zionism as a political movement, regardless of if that discussion is supportive or critical.
However, it is defined as hateful conduct if, Twitch says, the term is used to “attack or demean another individual or group of people on the basis of their background or religious belief.”
“Our goal isn’t to stifle conversation about or criticism of an institution or ideology, but to prevent coded hate directed at individuals and groups of people,” Twitch added.
This change follows a wave of controversies related to how Twitch is handling the war in Gaza. After Twitch announced in October 2024 that it had “inadvertently” blocked user sign-ups in Israel and Palestine for a year, backlash snowballed.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which is openly pro-Israel, shared that it had spoken to Twitch staff after becoming aware of “several concerning incidents” on the platform. These incidents were related to some leftist creators criticizing pro-Israel influencers for being “Zionists.”
While Twitch has now clarified that the critique of Zionism is not against its policies, it is against its policies to “denigrate” others with the term.
“We want to make sure that our Hateful Conduct policy continues to be flexible and cover terms that may be used to cause harm to others,” the platform noted. “We’ll continue to evaluate our policies to ensure that they’re protecting our community effectively.”
In response, some creators are speaking out against the decision. “By flagging ‘Zionist’ as a slur, Twitch conflates Zionism with Jewish identity, erasing dissent and diversity among Jews,” writer Jake Steinberg tweeted. “This stifles criticism of a political ideology during a time in which an ethnic cleansing is being carried out in Zionism’s name.”
