A number of trans streamers on Twitch say they’ve experienced an uptick in discriminatory and hateful comments since the release of the controversial but incredibly popular new video game Hogwarts Legacy.
Some streamers say there was a website tracking people playing the game — which is no longer around — and that streamers were being targeted specifically. The gaming site Dexerto spoke to a streamer named Marina who said: “I don’t think these hate raids and such are happening because of Hogwarts Legacy. They have always happened to us. But I think the vocal transphobia on Twitter surrounding Hogwarts Legacy has made these trolls and bad actors want to go harder with their actions lately.”
The game is steeped in controversy because the billionaire creator of the Harry Potter franchise, J.K. Rowling, has been accused of making transphobic comments and claims to be a TERF, or trans-exclusionary radical feminist. This has poisoned the well of the fandom and turned what was once a family-friendly franchise into a cultural warzone. It doesn’t help that the game is getting great reviews.
Vtuber Klavinmour shared some unsettling receipts about received death threats.
Dexerto said more than 12 trans streamers experienced similar tactics: a wave of new followers would show up with transphobic usernames that demanded self-harm and then enter chats and continue to be abusive. Unfortunately, Marina said that abuse toward trans streamers is a fairly common occurrence.
Twitch tried to combat the issue by introducing strategies to address targeted attacks. Per the site:
“We are continuing to build new features to prevent the harm caused by malicious spam, botting, and raiding, but in the meantime we wanted to highlight the tools that are currently available to help combat this kind of behavior. We know many Creators are already using these strategies, and have been sharing tactics and tools with each other, and we want to ensure this information is readily available for others who may need it. These settings are available via the Moderation Settings in Stream Manager.”
Marina said it’s not enough, as the trolls keep finding ways around the safeguards.
“This helped for a while, but the hate raids never truly stopped, and in the past month, they have picked up again with more vicious methods of getting around the verification system.”
Another streamer named VirtualLily said they experience the same thing. “Hate raiders came into my Discord to post gore, hate speech, transphobia, and more.”
Here’s an example:
Hogwarts Legacy is in stores now.