Streamers plan Twitch strike after platform fails to tackle "hate raids"

Earlier this month we indicated that Twitch streamers from marginalized groups were being targeted by "hate raids", which involved a massive influx of hateful and discriminatory messages being spammed in their chat. Many streamers subsequently called on Twitch to take action and spurred the #TwitchDoBetter trend. 

After Twitch failed to remediate the situation, Twitch streamers have now rallied behind the #ADayOffTwitch trend as a means to protest against the ongoing "hate raids" on the streaming platform. The protest is scheduled for September 1st and calls for all users not to log in or stream on Twitch.

Twitch streamers protest against "hate raids" with #ADayOffTwitch trend

The movement is being led by content creators, Rek It Raven, LuciaEverBlack, and Shineypen, who claim to be "continuing the fight" against the harassment. 

LuciaEverBlack has also called on Twitch star Asmongold to consider showing his support and solidarity with them, citing: "Twitch should be a fun place for everyone. Even if we don't all get along, we don't have to like each other to do the right thing. Hate and harassment should not be the default experience of creators."

@Asmongold please consider showing support and solidarity with us on this. Twitch should be a fun place for everyone. Even if we don't all get along, we don't have to like each other to do the right thing. Hate and harassment should not be the default experience of creators.

— Lucia "Angry Trans Woman" Everblack 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🔮 (@LuciaEverblack) August 22, 2021

Twitch's initial response to the "hate raids" were not well received by those who were affected. In a lengthy thread, Twitch said that they would address the issues by having "an open and ongoing dialogue about creator safety" and admitted that there was a "vulnerability in [its] proactive filters".

Thank you to everyone who shared these difficult experiences. We were able to identify a vulnerability in our proactive filters, and have rolled out an update to close this gap and better detect hate speech in chat. We'll keep updating this to address emerging issues.

— Twitch (@Twitch) August 11, 2021

We're launching channel-level ban evasion detection and account verification improvements later this year. We’re working hard to launch these tools as soon as possible, and we hope they will have a big impact. Check out more on our existing tools here: https://t.co/Dku6eBhY72

— Twitch (@Twitch) August 11, 2021

Despite promising to address the emerging issue with the release of new "channel-level evasion detection" tools for creators, "hate raids" have persisted on Twitch and ultimately led to creators now attempting to boycott the streaming service.

While the realistic impact of an attempted boycott against Twitch is unremarkable, it has not dissuaded streamers from standing together against this important cause.

We agree that no person should be targeted by harassment or abuse and that further action is necessitated. We will have to wait and see what Twitch's response will be and what the efficacy of the #ADayOffTwitch will have on this ongoing issue.

• Read more: Is Asmongold quitting Twitch streaming?

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Header image via Twitch.