The Jaw-Dropping Truth Behind Asmongold's Brave Stand Against Twitch View Botting

Highlights

Twitch has a massive audience of 140 million active users per month, but not all the statistics seen on the platform are genuine.

The issue of view botting, artificially increasing viewing numbers on a channel, continues to be a problem on Twitch, causing distortion in engagement statistics. Asmongold and other streamers have been vocal in calling out content creators they suspect of using view bots, leading to criticism of Twitch for their perceived lack of action in tackling this issue.

Twitch, a streaming platform owned by Amazon, has gained a substantial audience since it became a mainstream source of entertainment. According to Twitch Tracker, it boasts 140 million active users each month, a significant accomplishment. However, despite its popularity, not all the statistics displayed on the site can be trusted.

Ever since its launch in 2011, Twitch has been embroiled in numerous controversies, such as debates on gambling, hot tub streams, and view botting. The latter has been an ongoing issue since the advent of social media, although proving such actions can be challenging. Over the years, Asmongold has consistently called out content creators whom he believes are engaging in these practices.

The Issue With View Bots on Twitch

View botting, unfamiliar to some, is a method used to artificially boost viewing numbers on a channel. It can also involve increasing follower counts or obtaining "likes" on social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Recently, Kick has faced criticism for incorporating view bots into gambling streams.

While view botting may appear harmless, it has previously led to internet trolls flooding Twitch with fake viewers. Although their intention might be to make a channel appear more popular and attract genuine viewers, it ultimately distorts the engagement statistics of the stream. This can be especially detrimental for those who are unaware of this manipulation and are striving to grow their channel organically.

Some streamers intentionally use web services to give the impression of having a larger audience, while others may unknowingly have bots sent to their channels. Different programs have different behaviors, but view bots typically do not participate in chat. If they do, their messages often lack authenticity. Despite being a violation of Twitch and Kick's terms of service, detecting view botting can be challenging.

Accusing someone of using bots is a serious allegation and can have severe consequences if proven wrong. However, Asmongold hasn't hesitated to point fingers at those he believes are exploiting the system. In November, he even alleged that Blizzard was using bots in their World of Warcraft: Dragonflight trailer. Trainwreckstv, a co-founder of Kick, has also been actively leading the campaign against view botters. Unfortunately, it seems that Twitch has yet to take sufficient action to satisfy either streamer.

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Certainly, there are individuals who are easily recognizable for their insincere behavior. For instance, the Twitch channel GunsAndGlitch, now banned, experienced a rapid growth in 2019 with 10,000 viewers per broadcast and 3,000 followers in just one week. However, Reddit's communities quickly noticed the absence of messages in the chat. Initially, GunsAndGlitch dismissed this as a marketing strategy, but later alleged that someone else was artificially boosting their viewership.

More recently, on August 26, Asmongold voiced his opinion on the situation involving another Twitch channel, FextraLife. FextraLife is recognized for its gaming guides, news, and reviews, and also maintains a significant presence on Twitch. In 2021, YouTuber Ludwig Aghren accused the company of "view-stealing" due to the absence of activity in the chat, despite having a reported 60,000 viewers.

Fextralife appears to be unethically increasing its viewer count by embedding the stream on its website. Asmongold accused Fextralife of being a view-botter and criticized Twitch for not taking action. During the stream, he expressed his disappointment with Twitch's inaction, stating that it was disgraceful and a joke. He further opined that the blame should be placed on Twitch for not enforcing stricter guidelines, rather than solely on FextraLife. However, Twitch has yet to address the matter, leaving the streamer frustrated.