“We can do whatever the fuck we want,” streamer Adin Ross tells his followers about the new streaming platform Kick. “There’s no terms of service over there. You guys can say whatever you want in my chat.” 

Ross is the most high-profile streamer to join Kick, a new Twitch rival streaming platform that is gaining attention for its relaxed content moderation policies and creator-friendly revenue split, and his style demonstrates how little Kick follows its own content moderation rules.

Some gamers, streamers, and influencers are bringing their audiences of young, impressionable viewers over to Kick, which has become a safe haven for hate speech and extremism.

A number of streamers have enormous and devoted followings across social media, and the lucrative industry is constantly evolving. Teens and young adults in particular have a fondness for watching livestreamers.

What’s found on Kick?

Kick, which is still in beta-testing and has recently signed other big-name personalities and streamers, features white nationalist and extremist-linked content creators, hate speech, and pornographic content. Some of the content creators are connected to notorious white nationalist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes and his streaming website, Cozy.tv (a Kick representative once refused to comment on whether Fuentes is welcome on the platform). 

Here is a breakdown of extremist-linked creators and content found on Kick:

• Fuentes associates and Cozy.tv extremist streamers Tyler Russell, “Beardson Beardly” (real name Matt Evans), and “Woozuh” (real name Jared Noble) all have profiles on Kick and promote Cozy.tv. Content creator “ChiefTrumpster” also streams on Kick and has Cozy.tv links on his streams. 

• Fascist commentator and Fuentes associate Dalton Clodfelter streams on Kick. Clodfelter has repeatedly posted about Kick on his Telegram account and promotes Cozy.tv on his profile.

• There are numerous profiles on Kick with antisemitic, racist, or anti-LGBTQ handles. There are also a handful of “groyper” profiles, a term associated with Fuentes’ followers.

• Right-wing political operative and extremist-linked figure Roger Stone streams on Kick. 
• White nationalist Vincent James Foxx has a profile on Kick and has promoted it on Telegram. 
• Anti-LGBTQ bigot Bryson Gray also streams on the platform. 
• Misogynistic “manosphere” influencer and Fuentes associate Sneako (real name Nico Kenn De Balinthazy) appears to have a profile on the platform. De Balinthazy has previously made antisemitic comments. He was recently pictured with former President Donald Trump. 
• The platform is reportedly saturated with pornographic content. Recently, a popular streamer reportedly received a one-day ban on Kick for after receiving oral sex while live on the platform. 

On Twitter, streamer Trainwreck (real name Tyler Niknam), who is a co-founder and representative for Kick, teased the idea that more big name influencers are signing deals with the platform. Additionally, MrBeast, one of the most popular content creators in the world, has interacted with Kick’s official Twitter account, spurring speculation online about the celebrity joining forces with the website. 

The website is reportedly backed by Eddie Craven, a co-founder of crypto-gambling website Stake. Twitch has cracked down on gambling on its platform and Kick prohibits gambling “with other users” in its community guidelines, but has a streaming section devoted to it. It’s unclear what gambling Kick does and does not allow on its website. 

The mobile Kick app is currently the eighth most popular app in Apple’s App Store photo and video category. The Kick app is likely to violate the App Store’s terms of service against “overtly sexual or pornographic material” and “defamatory, discriminatory, or mean-spirited content.” 

The app is also available in the Google Play store, which prohibits apps that promote sexual content and hate speech. 

Adin Ross is a case study in Kick’s disconcerting content moderation 

Ross’ antics on Kick offer a case study in how little the platform complies with its own content moderation policies. According to its community guidelines, Kick does not allow sexual content, content that encourages “threats or harassment,” or “hate speech that directly attacks a person or group on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, medical or mental condition, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender, or gender identity.”

Ross’ content appears to have violated the website’s community guidelines on multiple occasions. 

Ross was recently permanently banned from Twitch, where he had more than 7.2 million followers (he also has over 3.5 million subscribers on YouTube, 2.2 million Twitter followers, 5.7 million Instagram followers, and 6.4 million followers on TikTok). Following his ban, which he did not explain, the streamer began making anti-trans comments online and streaming exclusively on Kick. 

Here are a few instances of Ross’ buffoonery on Kick that likely violate the platform’s community guidelines: 

• Ross has hosted Fuentes on his Kick streams at least twice. In one instance, Ross asked Fuentes to discuss the “Day of Hate,” a call to action to “harass and target Jewish communities.” There was reportedly no violence.

• Ross hosted an anonymous man who was wearing a mask with a swastika and slurs on it and sitting in front of a Black Sun neo-Nazi flag. "I'm not trying to give you a platform,” Ross said, while giving him a platform.

• Ross said that his pronouns are “kill/them” in an anti-trans reaction video.

• Ross streamed pornographic content to his viewers, some of whom are likely under 18 years old. Ross later apologized.

• Ross was reportedly banned from Twitch on February 24 for having his Kick comments section displayed to his viewers for 20 minutes, which included “racist and anti-semitic messages.”
• Ross reportedly attempted to get “self-proclaimed Nazi” GypsyCrusader (real name Paul Miller) on Kick and played a video of Miller dressed as Hitler saying the N-word.  
• Ross reportedly encouraged a fan to throw urine on a family member and joked about paying someone to slit a throat.

Kick is reportedly working on rolling out “automatic moderation for streamers to counter racism and inappropriate language” on the platform, but it’s not clear when that feature will be released. And automated content moderation has limitations, as these tools need to be constantly updated and can have a difficult time understanding nuances and variations in human speech.