Streamers are calling for a Twitch boycott, as the platform rolls out a seemingly unavoidable Hogwarts Legacy ad campaign. Other content creators are opting to turn their ads off for the duration of the campaign, refusing to platform the Harry Potter series on their streams.
This comes after a creator was made aware of Hogwarts Legacy ads that were apparently interrupting her streams, prompting her to stop streaming while the campaign is in place. As well as encouraging the boycott, she is calling on Twitch to end the partnership, since it promotes a product that JK Rowling directly benefits from.
This push to get streamers off the platform while the Hogwarts Legacy promotion is running is being kicked off by Twitch user Nikatine, who first became aware of the ads on Saturday.
"Hogwarts Legacy is a product ultimately funding JK Rowling, whose well-documented stance on trans people remains firmly rooted in a callous disregard for human life," says Nikatine. "Therefore, I will not be streaming to Twitch while this ad campaign remains active. I call on every streamer to join me in taking a stance against bigotry."
Some smaller creators have replied, saying that they will take part in the boycott, or at least turn their ads off while the ad is live on Twitch. Of course, the platform would really feel the impact of this if other, larger streamers also participate in the boycott, but none appear to have commented so far.
Reactions from Twitch streamers who wish to disavow JK Rowling's transphobia have been mixed. While some have simply opted to ignore the game entirely, others, such as political streamer Hasanabi, have suggested playing it live while also fundraising for a trans-positive charity.
Twitch is yet to respond to the criticism it is facing for this ad campaign, and it's not clear if it intends to. TheGamer has contacted Twitch for comment.
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