The #TwitchDoBetter Movement Is Far From Over. Hate Raids and Racial Abuse Continue to Threaten the Lives and Livelihoods of Black Creators.

Throughout Black History Month, Twitch—like many other corporations—resorted to token gestures and performative activism. While it claimed to have featured more than 1,300 Black creators on its Front Page, the Black Brilliance section was relegated to the fourth shelf. This did little to boost their discoverability, or make them feel valued by the same platform that gains revenue and viewership from their content. And while Twitch claimed to have enhanced security protocols for those featured, online harassment continues. In fact, Black creators have reported an uptick in hate raids on the platform; racist users continue to target, harass, and abuse Black creators. Enough is enough. Twitch needs to make its commitment to Black brilliance and Black creators tangible.

Back in September 2021, Twitch unveiled two updates to its safety and security protocols: dual authentication and a mechanism for curbing channel-ban evasion. But since then, Twitch has left Black creators in the dark about what, if any, additional steps will be taken to protect them, and sits idle as anti-Black hate runs rampant on the platform. Twitch needs to be transparent, intentional, and swift in its efforts to protect Black creators.

Join Color Of Change in demanding that #TwitchDoBetter and meet our outstanding demands:

Easily accessible and well-communicated incident feedback loops – which would allow Black creators who’ve been harassed or hate-raided to obtain more immediate support.
Improved moderation practices and support – which would equip Black creators and their teams with the tools needed to end hate raids and protect themselves from discriminatory language, especially during featured events.
Commitment to conduct a racial equity audit – which would allow Twitch to eliminate any manifestation of bias, discrimination, or hate in its policies and procedures.

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Dear [recipient position will go here] [recipient name will go here],

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On March 12, Color Of Change worked with more than 100 Black creators to pen an Open Letter to Twitch demanding that tangible steps be taken to curtail racist abuse and harassment on the platform. As of April 1, Twitch has neither publicly responded to this letter nor announced any changes to its safety and security protocols. For this reason, I am writing to express my disappointment with how Twitch has handled anti-Black racism on its platform, and strongly urge you to adopt the outstanding demands associated with the #TwitchDoBetter movement. This would include improved moderation support, policies that advocate for Black users who’ve experienced racial abuse, easily accessible incident feedback loops involving harassment complaints, and a commitment to conduct a racial equity audit.

Since 2018, racist users have been threatening the lives and livelihoods of Black creators—from hate raids that attack the essence of their identities to false 911 calls that put Black streamers at risk of lethal police violence. Aside from dual authentication and other small changes, however, Twitch has largely failed to improve its safety measures and protect Black creators from abuse. This has resulted in an unsafe, hostile, dangerous environment for Black creators and other marginalized communities. Just a few weeks ago, Twitch even shared a tweet about how “bad actors have been coordinating off-Twitch to target women and LGBTQ+ members of [the] community.” Black creators take pride in their content and have worked tirelessly to build communities on the platform. I believe that their talents should be appreciated, their safety should be prioritized, and their voices should be centered as Twitch considers any changes to its policies and protocols.

In the past, Twitch made a commitment to “do more to fight against systemic racism and injustice” and even referred to itself as an “ally.” Well, the fight against anti-Black racism is happening on your platform and true allyship requires a reckoning with how your inaction has harmed Black communities. Please act accordingly, swiftly, and with far greater transparency.

Sincerely,
[your name will go here]
[your email address will go here]

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