Twitch hate raids return, targeting LGBTQ+ streamers and creators

gamepur.com:

In September 2021, a successful streamer strike took place. Twitch and their continued failure to take tangible action against the epidemic drove people to organize a blackout protest under the hashtag #ADayOffTwitch, which culminated in Twitch filing a civil lawsuit against two people accused of “hate raiding.” The phenomenon has not stopped, but the main culprit has been exposed. A long list of people over on the alt-right streaming platform CozyTV are accused of coordinating a mass harassment campaign targeting the LGBTQIA+ streaming community on Twitch, and CEO Nick Fuentes is fine with it.

The LGBTQIA+ tag has been the focus of bigoted ire, according to streamer ‘EarthtoBre,’ who tweeted about her recent experience viewing the live stream of another Twitch user. By her account, a plethora of hateful spam was directed at @thejustryan. Blizzb3ar also suffered the same campaign as a visible queer streamer and supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Before litigation was on the table, the influx of harassment (primarily targeting BIPOC and LGBTQIA+) was met with an apathetic “use what we have available” non-response. Since then, Twitch has promised a more “proactive” approach to ensure streamer protection; phone verification was added just last year in order to cull hate raid spam botting. Considering doxing and swatting are more prevalent than ever before, a lot is at stake. @xProvexx wasted no time pinpointing the source of the hate raid and warned people to steer clear of the tag for now:

“There is an alt-right website called CozyTV streaming hate raids that they’re conducting on Twitch. Have an action plan in case they try to raid – currently targeting Women and LGTBQ+ creators,” he tweeted.

CEO Nick Fuentes