Twitch Explains How It's Fighting Back Against Hate Raids

[Aquaboy]

Twitch is currently going through a crisis. Content creators on the live streaming platform are being targeted by hostile actors that use Twitch's chat and other systems to spread bigoted harassment. Twitch previously acknowledged the ongoing problems and announced it was taking further steps to prevent the harassment, but so far those efforts have proven ineffective. Due to continued pressure from Twitch streamers to do more, Twitch has now issued another statement on the subject.

In a thread of four tweets posted on Twitter, Twitch first states outright that "No one should have to experience malicious and hateful attacks based on who they are or what they stand for." Twitch makes clear that what's happening isn't acceptable and that it's working on a solution. In other words, Twitch is repeating the same sentiment that it first shared on Twitter earlier in August.

From there, Twitch tries to provide some context for the situation, detailing both what's happening and why an immediate solution isn't presenting itself. It first states that the harassment stems from "highly motivated bad actors." These bad actors are said to be actively responding to any changes made by Twitch, searching for methods to continue spreading slurs in response to every move Twitch makes to prevent them.

Twitch also wants to make clear that it is working to prevent them. It says that it's "continually updating [Twitch's] sitewide banned word filters" and "removing bots when identified." These are two active actions Twitch is carrying out, though their effectiveness isn't visibly significant given the continued widespread issue and harassment of Twitch streamers.

Twitch also says that it's doing more behind the scenes to counter harassment, including building "channel-level ban evasion detection and account improvements." However, it says that it can't go into detail about these systems, or other ways it's trying to counter malicious behavior, so as to avoid giving the bad actors time to counter Twitch's efforts. The company says that it is making daily invisible changes as well. Basically, Twitch is asking content creators to trust that it's making an effort, even if that effort has so far been ineffective.

The response to Twitch's latest statements is understandably negative. Twitch streamers and their followers are tired of receiving bigoted hate raids in their chats often multiple times a day. The fact that there's no tangible solution being presented and that many streamers are having to resort to third-party tools to get up-to-date ban-lists is only driving frustration. That said, Twitch is clearly continuing an open dialogue on the matter and asking for more feedback. As such, it's just a matter of how much longer Twitch streamers will have to deal with the matter before an official solution is presented.

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