“How do I stay safe from a hate raid?" is LIVE!

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IT'S THE HOTLINE'S BDAY!

Hi Friend,

Happy August! This month we're celebrating two years of the Games and Online Harassment Hotline serving our community! In honor of the occasion, all month long we'll be sharing more about what we do, as well as resources and tips for protecting yourself and helping others cope and thrive in games spaces.

First up: we're extraordinarily pleased to announce that our brand new resource for streamers “How do I stay safe from a hate raid?” is live!

This guide was created as a way to bring together the vast community knowledge and tools that have surfaced in response to the increasing hate raids on Twitch. We cover:

How to set up your stream/settings to minimize the impact of a hate raid
What to do during a hate raid
And further safety steps to take after a hate raid

ACCESS THE HATE RAID RESOURCE

WHAT IS A HATE RAID?

Raids are a Twitch feature that forward a streamer’s current viewers to another stream, usually as a sign of support. Hate raids happen when this feature is used to flood a channel with a large volume of abusive messages and harassment. Often, this involves large numbers of bot accounts and most commonly targets Black streamers, female streamers, queer streamers, and other marginalized streamers.

So, your chat gets spammed with slurs or doxxed info, your new follower and hosting alerts blow up with bot accounts using offensive usernames, your text-to-speech donation or bits gets exploited to read more hate messages, and all the while the hate raiders are recording you for your reaction.

There is no one right way to respond to harassment. Keeping a sense of self and agency can be one of the most important things to center in the face of ongoing harassment. So remember that you’re allowed to react to hate raids in any way that feels right to you. It’s OK to stop streaming, to keep streaming, to talk about it, to not talk about it, to feel angry, to feel numb, to feel scared, to feel anything at all.

Remember: online harassment is not your fault.

Onward!

The Games and Online Harassment Hotline provides free, text message-based, confidential emotional support to anyone who needs it from people who understand abuse and harassment in games.

Supporters like you make the Hotline possible. Donate today and help us expand our reach!

DONATE TODAY!

STREAMING THIS MONTH

Thank you to our amazing community of streamers who are showing up for the Hotline this month. Check them out!

August 5 & 26 @5 PM PT: Prince_Harming - one of our very favorite drag king streamers is showing up not just once, but twice for the Hotline this month!
August 11 @ 9:30 AM - 2 PM PT: Whitethorn Games - join our friends at Whitehorn for some APCIO gameplay + a Q&A with the developer and live music. Our Hotline Coordinator, Carl will make a guest appearance as well. Thank you to Whitethorn for matching all donations during their stream up to $1K!!
August 11 @ 4:30 - 5:30 PM PT: Mxiety - our very own Hotline Director Jae will join Mxiety to chat about all things Hotline as we celebrate our 2nd year!
August 12 & 19 @ 4 PM PT: SweetNShady get a lil sweet n shady as Kat streams competitive Overwatch!
August 18 @ 4:30 PM PT: CosPilates - Mermaids, Seals, and Swimming are not just for summer, but for Pilates too! Join Sarah for an open level Pilates mat class inspired by the infamous TV trope, the Beach Episode!
August 19 @ 5 - 8 PM PT: that_deangelo streams on LatinXinGames - tune in for Vampire: The Masquerade and influence the game with your donations to the Hotline!
More to come!

Are you interested in streaming for the Hotline? Get in touch!