Twitch Influencers Face Stalking, Police Raids and Harassment
Experts say that the interaction between the streamer and the viewer results in a “greater social closeness” that those working in the business say can boil over into extreme, unhealthy attachments.
Landwebs
Streamers on Twitch and other platforms have had stalkers show up at their homes and at fan conventions, been targeted by armed and violent viewers or dealt with swatting, a sometimes deadly stunt in which someone calls the local police to report a fake crime at a streamer’s home, reports the New York Times. As streamers grow into celebrities, sometimes overnight, Twitch provides little warning about the risks and offers only limited support when dangerous situations arise.
Experts say that the interaction between the streamer and the viewer results in a “greater social closeness” that those working in the business say can boil over into extreme, unhealthy attachments. Micro-celebrities who are famous among a niche group, such as a Twitch audience, do not tend to realize how accessible their personal information is until the harassment starts. And Twitch streamers point out that the police do not usually act on reports of threats, only to what they consider “real-world danger.”
