Streamers Boycott Twitch, Over Attacks Targeting, Marginalized Communities.
Streamers Boycott Twitch, Over Attacks Targeting, Marginalized Communities.
NPR reports that many Twitch users
boycotted the platform on Sept. 1.
Those involved say the issue is the company's
lack of response to so-called "hate raids" that
have been reported on the platform recently.
Those involved say the issue is the company's
lack of response to so-called "hate raids" that
have been reported on the platform recently.
"Hate raids" involve an influx of bots following a streamer
and then spamming the same message in their chat box.
"Hate raids" involve an influx of bots following a streamer
and then spamming the same message in their chat box.
The message is usually something racist, sexist, homophobic or otherwise toxic.
Raven, who streams under the name RekItRaven, is one of the main organizers of the boycott.
They started drawing attention to the issue of
hate raiding when it first happened to them in July.
NPR reports that it got so bad that the attacks
started including Raven's address and
personal information about their children.
These attacks tend to target streamers from marginalized communities, including
Black streamers and queer streamers.
These attacks tend to target streamers from marginalized communities, including
Black streamers and queer streamers.
The Amazon-owned streaming company said
in a statement that they support streamers'
rights to bring attention to important issues.
The Amazon-owned streaming company said
in a statement that they support streamers'
rights to bring attention to important issues.
No one should have to experience
malicious and hateful attacks based
on who they are or what they stand
for, and we are working hard on
improved channel-level ban
evasion detection and additional
account improvements to help make
Twitch a safer place for creators, Twitch, via statement