Twitch has responded to the #TwitchDoBetter social media campaign, which is being used to ask the streaming service to better protect its marginalized streamers from "hate-raiding" and other examples of hate speech being made against them on the platform.
Twitch recently acknowledged the issues surrounding harassment targeted toward its marginalized creators during their streams on the platform in a thread of tweets. The company said, "We’ve seen a lot of conversation about botting, hate raids, and other forms of harassment targeting marginalized creators. You’re asking us to do better, and we know we need to do more to address these issues. That includes an open and ongoing dialogue about creator safety."
We’ve seen a lot of conversation about botting, hate raids, and other forms of harassment targeting marginalized creators. You’re asking us to do better, and we know we need to do more to address these issues. That includes an open and ongoing dialogue about creator safety.
— Twitch (@Twitch) August 11, 2021
The company then went on to detail what actions it would be taking in light of the hateful abuse received by its creators on the platform. The Amazon-owned streaming service explained that it has been able to "identify a vulnerability in [its] proactive filters" and that it has "rolled out an update to close this gap and better detect hate speech in chat". To supplement this further, Twitch will also be launching "channel-level ban evasion detection and account verification improvements" later this year that it hopes will go will have a big impact on the issues in the future.
Twitch ended its thread by saying, "Our work is never done, and your input is essential as we try to build a safer Twitch. We’ll be reaching out to community members to learn more about their experiences," before encouraging users to share their own feedback via UserVoice.
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
"Hate-raiding", for those who haven't come across the term, is the name given when a streamer's chat is inundated by a number of users who all spam the same hateful messages towards them. The hashtag #TwitchDoBetter was set up by a streamer called Rek It Raven after they were reportedly hate-raided twice in just a week. Since then, a number of other streamers have got behind the hashtag in support of the campaign, and the term began trending on Twitter.
Raven spoke to PC Gamer, about their thoughts on Twitch's response to the ongoing issue. They said, "I am happy that they finally responded so we know that they're actually seeing what's going on […] But we've been here before, right? And not much has changed." At the beginning of the year, Twitch made the announcement that it would be updating its harassment policy in an attempt to mitigate hate speech on its platform. The company then further announced an updated set of guidelines in April.
Raven continued, "I mean, they came out with a new, clearer-defined TOS at the beginning of the year, and people are still not being held to that standard. So I am optimistic that they responded and that they are hearing everyone who is crying out like, 'Hey, we're literally being abused on your platform.' I don't know what's going to come of it. I really hope that they reach out to me and a couple of other marginalized creators, but I don't know if that's gonna happen."
Twitch has not confirmed a specific date for the release of its latest set of improvements that it hopes will help to curb harassment on its platform, but I think we can all agree that it's a matter of the sooner the better for everyone involved.
Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.