Twitch streamers are organizing a boycott of the platform in protest at hate raids that have been affecting marginalized streamers across the site for some time now, and inaction from Twitch on preventing them.
On September 1, a number of streamers are set to go on strike across the platform in a bid to push Twitch to do more about hate raids and hate speech directed towards various marginalized streamers on the platform. The protest is being organized by streamers Rek It Raven, LuciaEverBlack, and Shineypen under the hashtag [HASH=5014]#ADayOffTwitch[/HASH].
News of the protest follows the [HASH=4679]#TwitchDoBetter[/HASH] campaign which was originally set up by Rek It Raven to encourage Twitch to act quickly after a number of marginalized streamers were being targeted by hate raids on the platform. Whilst Twitch did announce a number of measures it is taking to better protect its streamers, including building channel-level ban evasion detection, the problem seems to be persisting on the platform. A number of streamers still seem to be on the receiving end of bots and users who inundate their streams with hateful slurs.
Since initially responding to the [HASH=4679]#TwitchDoBetter[/HASH] campaign on Twitter in early August, the platform has tried to reassure streamers that it is continuing to work hard to mitigate the issues. The company tweeted on August 20, "No one should have to experience malicious and hateful attacks based on who they are or what they stand for. This is not the community we want on Twitch, and we want you to know we are working hard to make Twitch a safer place for creators."
While Twitch continues to work on its channel-level ban evasion detection and account improvements to combat hate speech and malicious behavior, the company has asked streamers to continue to report incidents the attacks in the meantime. Despite its assurances, many streamers feel that Twitch hasn't acted effectively nor quickly enough to combat the hateful attacks being made on the platform.
A number of streamers have shown solidarity with the [HASH=5014]#ADayOffTwitch[/HASH] protest. Rek It Raven's Tweet about the protest has gained over 7000 likes on Twitter, and a Discord server acting as a safe space for those hoping to speak out about hate raids has also been set up. Adventure Zone and MBMBaM cohost Travis McElroy is just one of many who have shown their support for the protest. McElroy concluded that he too would not be accessing the streaming platform on September 1.
Twitch has not confirmed a specific date for the release of its latest set of improvements that it hopes will curb hateful content on the platform. Those involved within the protest will be hoping that the increased pressure will encourage Twitch to make releasing its additional tools and providing relief for its creators a top priority.
Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
Continue reading...
On September 1, a number of streamers are set to go on strike across the platform in a bid to push Twitch to do more about hate raids and hate speech directed towards various marginalized streamers on the platform. The protest is being organized by streamers Rek It Raven, LuciaEverBlack, and Shineypen under the hashtag [HASH=5014]#ADayOffTwitch[/HASH].
We are continuing the fight.
Shout out to @LuciaEverblack and @ShineyPen for helping me with this!#ADayOffTwitch
September 1st, don't go live. pic.twitter.com/dU1ycC9YtM
— ʀᴇᴋ ɪᴛ, ʀᴀᴠᴇɴ! ☠(@RekItRaven) August 20, 2021
News of the protest follows the [HASH=4679]#TwitchDoBetter[/HASH] campaign which was originally set up by Rek It Raven to encourage Twitch to act quickly after a number of marginalized streamers were being targeted by hate raids on the platform. Whilst Twitch did announce a number of measures it is taking to better protect its streamers, including building channel-level ban evasion detection, the problem seems to be persisting on the platform. A number of streamers still seem to be on the receiving end of bots and users who inundate their streams with hateful slurs.
Since initially responding to the [HASH=4679]#TwitchDoBetter[/HASH] campaign on Twitter in early August, the platform has tried to reassure streamers that it is continuing to work hard to mitigate the issues. The company tweeted on August 20, "No one should have to experience malicious and hateful attacks based on who they are or what they stand for. This is not the community we want on Twitch, and we want you to know we are working hard to make Twitch a safer place for creators."
While Twitch continues to work on its channel-level ban evasion detection and account improvements to combat hate speech and malicious behavior, the company has asked streamers to continue to report incidents the attacks in the meantime. Despite its assurances, many streamers feel that Twitch hasn't acted effectively nor quickly enough to combat the hateful attacks being made on the platform.
A number of streamers have shown solidarity with the [HASH=5014]#ADayOffTwitch[/HASH] protest. Rek It Raven's Tweet about the protest has gained over 7000 likes on Twitter, and a Discord server acting as a safe space for those hoping to speak out about hate raids has also been set up. Adventure Zone and MBMBaM cohost Travis McElroy is just one of many who have shown their support for the protest. McElroy concluded that he too would not be accessing the streaming platform on September 1.
Twitch has not confirmed a specific date for the release of its latest set of improvements that it hopes will curb hateful content on the platform. Those involved within the protest will be hoping that the increased pressure will encourage Twitch to make releasing its additional tools and providing relief for its creators a top priority.
Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
Continue reading...