Twitch’s controversial new boosted stream feature has already drawn criticism, and it’s sure to get even more now that some channels are misusing it to troll with questionable broadcast titles.
Boosted streams is a feature that allows users to promote their channel or the channels of broadcasters they follow by paying for impressions, thereby advertising the stream to other viewers. Viewers can pay anywhere from $0.99 for 1,000 recommendations to $500 for a maximum of 500 recommendations to help streamers promote their streams.
While the boost tool is now in a limited-time release with only a few streamers getting access to it, others have already started abusing it. Because you can advertise your broadcast to a large audience, some people have started boosting their streams with titles that aren’t strictly PG.
As shown by Jake Lucky on Twitter, CaliSCG’s stream, titled “(18+) Free J*zz inside,” was supported by his community. Despite the fact that CaliSCG appeared to know what he was doing because the image used was a Kappa emote, which is associated with trolling and sarcasm, he appeared surprised when he was boosted.
During a November 1 program, he exclaimed, “My stream’s getting boosted? Wait, what the f**k? We’re now boosting this stream 1000x times? How does this work? I don’t know what the f**k is happening! ”
CaliSCG was amazed that anyone would encourage him, especially given the title of the broadcast, and was even concerned about being banned as a result. He joked, “This is literally the process of me getting banned”.
Fortunately, his stream was not compromised, and he was not suspended, but it’s something that certain platform users should be aware of in the future, particularly if they’re concerned about unwanted exposure.