Fox News Brought on a CGI Furry to Explain Twitch Hate Raids

Fox News just interviewed a cartoon furry about Twitch. Yep, you read that correctly.

Fox 5 New York brought on Buffpup, a virtual YouTuber or VTuber, to explain the #ADayOffTwitch protest that occurred on Sept. 1. Buffpup appeared as the computer-generated avatar she normally uses for streaming, which she describes as half-dog, half-human.

The #ADayOffTwitch protest was a boycott of the streaming platform to raise awareness of “hate raids,” in which hundreds of fake bots flood a streamers chat with hateful messages, usually targeting marginalized creators.

You might expect Fox to play the story for laughs, but no — it was a completely serious interview, and Buffpup did a great job relaying the facts of the story.

“It’s kinda silly that you don’t have to verify your email when you make an account,” she said. “We need better protection.”

“I want to protect my friends,” she went on. “Twitch is very important to me. It’s my job and it’s where I meet all my friends.”

Though Buffpup’s interview was on a regional station, it still proves how mainstream the #ADayOffTwitch protest has become. This level of news coverage bodes well for protestors, as Twitch may finally have to actually address their concerns.

The protest, which was started by queer Twitch streamer RekItRaven, resulted in a loss of one million concurrent viewers across the platform, show TwitchTracker statistics.

During the boycott, RekItRaven tweeted that the break felt “cathartic.”

“This is not the end,” they wrote. “But fuck, I am going to enjoy today.”

Today is #ADayOffTwitch and honestly — it feels cathartic.

I’ll be spending this time with my family, gaming and hanging with friends and just taking a fucking breath.

This is not the end. But fuck, I am going to enjoy today.

That’s #MyDayOffTwitch 💜

— Rek It, Raven! ☠ (@RekItRaven) September 1, 2021

So, is Twitch actually going to take steps to make the platform safer for queer people and all marginalized streamers? Only time will tell — Twitch hasn’t publicly acknowledged the boycott, but in August it announced that it was “working hard to make Twitch a safer place for creators.”

“No one should have to experience malicious and hateful attacks based on who they are or what they stand for,” it continued. “This is not the community we want on Twitch.”

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

And as long as streamers like Buffpup and RekItRaven continue to raise awareness, that promise could turn into action soon.