Twitch streamer loses over 100,000 followers after false ban for “impersonating herself”

Michael Gwilliam
streamer banned on twitch for impersonating herself

Popular Twitch streamer ‘ZeplaHQ’ has lost over half of her followers after the Amazon-owned platform mistakenly banned her for impersonating herself.

It can take quite some time for streamers to build their following and make streaming a full-time career. For ZeplaHQ, she had done just that, amassing nearly 250,000 followers on Twitch.

However, on September 15, much of her hard work came crashing down when she was hit with a surprise Twitch ban that, at the time, was indefinite. The reasoning? Twitch claimed she was a impersonating herself.

Twitch was quick to undo this mistake with just over an hour, but the damage had already been done, as Zepla lost over half her followers, sending her down to a mere 78.5k. Naturally, this didn’t sit well with the streamer, who let Twitch have it.

Streamer explodes at Twitch after mistake ban costs her followers

At first, the streamer voiced her frustration on Twitter, explaining how she was banned despite not being live for a week.

“Why did I get banned while I wasn’t even streaming since last week? And it deleted almost all my followers? I had 240k+ now I have 78.5K? This is devastating, I need answers,” she hammered.

The streamer went on to say how she had been fighting and dealing with scammers for years, which just made the ban all the more upsetting.

“I cannot afford this bullsh*t right now,” she added.

On Twitch, Zepla explained how she had no idea she had lost followers until she started the stream and viewers told her that had to refollow. She also went on to blast Twitch for their “thorough review” of her account before she was banned.

“They literally banned me for impersonating myself!” she cried before sarcastically adding that she looks “suspiciously like myself.”

It’s not clear if Twitch can do something about the followers lost or can compensate the streamer for the error, but in the meantime, the platform is facing a ton of backlash from viewers who are demanding answers.

About The Author

Michael Gwilliam is a senior writer at Dexerto based in Ontario, Canada. He specializes in Overwatch, Smash, influencers, and Twitch culture. Gwilliam has written for sites across Canada including the Toronto Sun. You can contact him at michael.gwilliam@dexerto.com or on Twitter @TheGwilliam