Twitch replaces the PogChamp every day for the rest of the year with a new community face, and although the platform’s intentions were good, the actual implementation was messy. Some streamers highlighted under the new initiative have experienced increasing harassment during their PogChamp tenure, and many fans want the live streaming service to be more proactive in its efforts to support these streamers.
PogChamp is one of the most popular emotions on the platform, but Twitch removed the original, which was the face of Ryan “Gootecks” Gutierrez, from his service after Gutierrez used social media to incite “further violence” after the attack on Capitol Hill last week. Twitch also banned Donald Trump’s Twitch page to prevent Twitch from being used to incite further violence.
“We want the sentiment and use of Pog to survive – its significance is far greater than the person portrayed or the image itself – and it has a large place in Twitch culture,” Twitch said on January 6. tweeted. “However, we can use the image with a clear conscience.”
Twitch quoted streamer and former Star craft 2 expert Sean Plott for the new idea, after proposing to create a database of different PogChamp faces from different streamers. Kenny “Unroilie” McWild was the first new face of PogChamp, followed by streamer and dancer UmiNoKaiju, Pokémon spreader Reversal, and actor and singer Omega Jones (also known as Critical Bard). Each held the role of PogChamp for 24 hours, and on Tuesday, drag queen Deere took over the title.
Although some are hesitant about the idea – especially to connect the popularity and language of emotions to real people – it was also received positively as a way to uplift marginalized creators on Twitch. The hope was that Twitch could create a more inclusive community by offering a wider group of streamers. The PogChamp emote experiment has indeed shown a variety of streamers over the past few days. However, Twitch community members criticize that the company is not doing enough to protect these streamers from the harassment that is additionally visible.
Each of the streamers featured so far has had a greater reach, after their faces were broadcast on Twitch’s 7.8 million Twitter. There are downsides to this: Twitch brings new voices to the fore in its service. But there is also a downside, and that is the toxicity that the Twitch community can sometimes bring.
Reversal, the face of PogChamp on January 10, said he received minor trolling because he was the face of PogChamp – but not enough that it harmed the experience for him. The harassment was particularly different on January 11, when Jones took over the role.
Although Jones said he received a lot of support from viewers and fans, he also received ‘many hurtful messages and death threats’ in his social media accounts, also during Monday’s stream. “I have been preparing my Twitch and Discord moderators for what is likely to happen, as I am a black man about to become the face of a global emote that Twitch has loved for so long,” Jones told Polygon via Twitter DM.
The harassment is about a remark Jones made to explain ‘the difference between saying white lives and Black Lives Matter’. Specifically, people stuck to Jones and said that ‘white lives do not matter’, removed from the context of what he actually said: that white people can be proud of their heritage – as if they were Scottish or Irish – but be proud of being white is not the same as being proud to be black.
‘Black people should say Black Lives Matter because we’re stolen from a country, […] stripped of our heritage and our identity, ”he said upstream. “All we know is our blackness. There is a difference. ‘
Critics on social media have argued ‘reverse racism’ over Jones’ comments, even if it is something that does not exist in the United States, given the broader power dynamics that exist.
Twitch emailed Polygon saying it was in ‘close contact’ with streamers highlighted in the PogChamp experiment.
“Emphasizing a new PogChamp every day was an idea that came directly from our community and was created in the spirit of celebrating the diversity of creators on Twitch,” the spokesman said in a statement. ‘Although we have seen an overwhelmingly positive response from both the community and those who have been highlighted, we are also in close contact with the new faces of PogChamp to provide support as needed. We do not tolerate harassment on Twitch, and will take action against any conduct in our service that violates our rules. ‘
But Jones said Twitch is not doing enough. “I just want them to realize that they can suppress a lot of this,” he told Polygon. ‘Ban people who light these flames, and that makes it harder for people to set up random accounts just to harass. To say nothing is the silence on which racists and adults thrive. Speaking clearly and taking a stand against racism and hatred do much more than they seem to realize. Do not wait for a black person or marginalized people to send you a message – we do not need to teach you how to have better security. ”
Community members agree, including content creator and activist Natasha “Zombaekillz” Zinda, who led the earlier indictment for Twitch to show Black Twitch streamers. “The battle cry for mods every time one of us gets a chance,” she tweeted Tuesday. “The feeling of fear when we succeed. Deleting our contributions. That’s why I’m talking. ‘
People express themselves in solidarity with Jones, especially after the visible increase in harassment on social media. The general core of fans is that Twitch’s idea is good, but that the implementation needs work to protect streamers, especially given the performance of the platform with viewers using emotions to express racism.
“Again, Twitch does not seem to understand how their community is divided, and different viewers have now decided to harass one of the new streamers they have chosen to be an emote,” Twitch streamer JG, also known as UTxJGTheDon, Polygon said in an email.
Just as a result of Twitch’s implementation of Deere as the new PogChamp, the streamer received a mix of support and harassment, the latter of which includes transphobia.
“It ALWAYS happens when Twitch tries to promote inclusion in any way,” UTxJGTheDon said. A bigger conversation needs to take place between people who visit the platform, and the higher-ups who run the platform. Things like this will not stop until Twitch condemns any form of hostile / toxic behavior outright. ”