Fox 5 New York had a CGI furry VTuber called Buffpup explain Twitch hate raids. Yes, really
Buffpup on Fox News. (Fox 5)
Furry VTuber Buffpup appeared on news station Fox 5 New York to explain the #ADayOffTwitch protest, which involved Twitch streamers boycotting the platform over the ongoing issue of homophobic and racist ‘hate raids’.
The short, surreal segment was shown on 2 September, and it went – er – surprisingly well, actually.
Contrary to what you may believe about Fox News, it was run as a straight interview, with Buffpup doing a great job of explaining the reasons behind the protest, rather than having the furry played for laughs or subjected to invasive questions about her lifestyle.
Buffpup, who describes herself as half dog half human, was included in the segment using the same avatar she uses to stream.
“It’s kinda silly that you don’t have to verify your email when you make an account,” she explained. “We need better protection.”
She continued: “I want to protect my friends. Twitch is very important to me, it’s my job and it’s where I meet all my friends.”
Though short, the segment succinctly explained the reasoning for the protest to a mainstream audience likely unfamiliar with Twitch.
Fox 5 might be a regional news programme, but it’s proof at how mainstream the #ADayOffTwich protest has become.
The campaign resulted in a loss of a million concurrent viewers on the day of the boycott, according to TwitchTracker statistics.
More so, it resulted in mainstream news coverage which – more than a drop of revenue – should push Twitch to find a solution to hate raids and make meaningful change for marginalised streamers on the platform.
Those streamers continue to receive hate raids, whereby hundreds of fake bot accounts spam a streamer’s chat with hateful and abusive messages.
The protest was begun by streamer RekItRaven, calling on Twitch to do better in protecting marginalised folks on the streaming platform.
Twitch has stated they’re working on a solution, but are yet to publicly acknowledge the #ADayOffTwitch protest.
No one should have to experience malicious and hateful attacks based on who they are or what they stand for. This is not the community we want on Twitch, and we want you to know we are working hard to make Twitch a safer place for creators. https://t.co/fDbw62e5LW
— Twitch (@Twitch) August 20, 2021
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