Twitch drama seems to be a constant in the world of livestreaming, but the most recent incident goes beyond petty arguments between streamers or inexplicable bans. Although it has always been an issue, the frequency and intensity of "hate raids" towards marginalized streamers (ie. people of color and members of the LGBTQIA+ community) has been drastically increasing in recent weeks, and Twitch hasn't done much about it. This has prompted streamers to get the hashtag #TwitchDoBetter trending on Twitter. As more and more streamers join the movement, it's likely that Twitch will address it in some way.
The problem is exacerbated by the way that Twitch streamers are treated by the platform. While streamers aren't typically treated maliciously there are widespread complaints about lack of communication and an unfair payment system. Namely, the fact that streamers only get around 50% of the money they would make from fans subscribing.
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Potential Trigger Warning For Hateful Speech
Sadly, streamers online are able to share plenty of examples of these hate raids on Twitch in action. Above, streamer SafireEGlamour shows off a host of accounts bombarding their stream with hateful comments. These range from thinly veiled threats to outright cries of hatred towards gays and people of color. It's truly disgusting to behold, but that isn't what these streamers are arguing. Instead, they hope to see more affirmative action from Twitch to stop this type of behavior from occurring, especially since much of it comes in the form of bots rather than actual people.
These streamers are calling for Twitch to provide better communication and a safer space for these marginalized creators, but at the time of writing, Twitch has not responded to these requests at all. A common sentiment among these creators is that 50% of a streamer's revenue going to Twitch should be more than enough to incentivize it to protect streamers, and that it shouldn't be an individual streamer's responsibility to fight off attacks like this. With any luck, Twitch will speak up about the issue as the movement gains more traction.
The tweets above are just two of many examples of hate raids on streamers and the streamers' responses. Under #TwitchDoBetter, readers can find a near endless slew of examples of these hate raids and suggestions from marginalized community members on how they can be addressed. Twitch is not known for transparency, communication, or for fostering healthy communities, but with enough support that could all change in the near future.
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