Hate raids are unfortunately nothing new on Twitch. Individuals purchase bots to flood a streamer's chat with follows, raids, and/or hate-guided messages.
#ADayOffTwitch began trending in just a few days due to the increase in hate raids attacking marginalized creators, both big and small. Persons who are upset with Twitch tend to guide these raids or those who simply want to showcase their racism, homophobia, transphobia, etc., to the streamers who try to build their communities against these very things.
The #ADayOffTwitch came about in collaboration with creators ShineyPen, Lucia Everblack, and RekitRaven. The idea to take the day off is to bring greater awareness to the situation than the current light that is already being showcased on it so far. The idea initially received a little backlash from bigger creators. However, those who have agreed to participate believe that even though they may be small, their voices and the strength of their communities are bigger and will make a difference.
WHAT HAPPENS DURING A HATE RAID?
Many streamers themselves weren't even sure what a hate raid was until now. Though it has been around for a while, the idea of hate raiding was never this bad until recently. Many have been wondering what to even expect or what happens so they can be on the lookout for it.
According to Twitch streamer, iamBrandon, it began with two viewers having regular conversations in his chat. What struck him about them was the fact that one of the names was already known for bringing a hate raid to another streamer. Therefore, he and his mods were ready to act if one started, which it did in no time. They spoke in his chat for a bit, followed him and flooded the stream with about 500 follows all at once. Other creators unfortunately not only got hit with the follow bots but have had to deal with numerous bots coming into their chat and saying racist or homophobic things.
WHAT IS TWITCH DOING ABOUT THIS?
Twitch has stated that there will be changes and fixes on the way, however, it is taking too long for these streamers who have to endure this and be fearful of pressing the 'go live' button. Therefore, they have decided to take matters into their own hands and using their voices, taking a day off, no streaming or viewing. Though not everyone on Twitch participated, this surely made a difference as multiple companies and organizations were made aware of what was happening and why.
#ADayOffTwitch occurred on the 1st of September. Ironically, Twitch has SUBtember during the month of September where subscriptions are at a discounted rate. They announced shortly before the month began that SUBtember would begin on the 2nd rather than the first. I'm sure there's no need to wonder why.