Twitch video gamers rise up against 'hate raids'
Twitch is more than a source of fun for several players
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Night after night, video game streamer RekItRaven watches as their feed is inundated with abusive messages. Hate raided, yet again.
In recent months the phenomenon of "hate raids" -- barrages of racist and sexist abuse -- has been making life increasingly unpleasant for minority users of Twitch, the world’s biggest video game streaming site.
Raven, a Black 31-year-old, fought back tears while describing the mental toll of logging into a site designed for entertainment.
"It just gets hard," said the parent-of-two, who declined to reveal their real name over fears for their security.
"I’m being hated on for my skin color when I don’t have control over that."
Twitch is more than a source of fun for Raven: it’s their job. The Virginia-based horror games player holds affiliate status, under which prolific and widely followed streamers get paid.
Sick of racial slurs and messages referring to the Ku Klux Klan, Raven started a Twitter hashtag, #TwitchDoBetter.
The hashtag has become a magnet for complaints over the past month, largely from female, and non-white players, that Twitch is failing to stop internet trolls running amok -- all while taking 50 percent of streamers’ earnings.
