Twitch’s Shield Mode Is Troll Armor

Issue #325 | March 20, 2025

Over the past year, nearly every major social platform has rolled back moderation policies. After Trump’s election, Meta changed their policies to allow more hateful speech on the platform. Under Elon Musk, X has also rolled back safety features and made it harder for users to block bad actors on the app, among other changes. Twitch, however, has done the opposite and, in doing so, has become a safe haven for many marginalized creators.

The live-streaming platform has introduced myriad features aimed at helping creators protect themselves against unwanted interactions. These features include options such as follower-only chat, keyword filters, and automatic message review. So far, they’ve proved to be a hit, with over 80% of streamers now using advanced tools like Shield Mode to create pre-set safety settings, up sharply from just 20% in 2022.

Twitch representatives say this growth reflects an ongoing strategic effort to prioritize creator comfort and community safety. “The majority of our streamers, regardless of their orientation or however they identify, like the idea that there is tooling available to them — that they can set up their own space the way they feel comfortable doing it,” Twitch VP of community health Sakina Arsiwala, told Digiday. “And those are the tools that result in this feeling of safety across the board, both for viewers, community members, as well as streamers.”

Twitch has not always been a safe haven for creators. Just a year ago, creators were begging the company to do something about the platform’s problem with hate raids (when anonymous users or bots spam streamers with a tsunami of hateful messages).

However, Twitch’s renewed focus on user safety and giving creators control over their own experience on the platform shows that when tech companies prioritize user safety, creators have a reason to flock to their apps. We all just want a safe place to create.

– Taylor Lorenz, Passionfruit Contributor

CULTURE

In Defense of the White House Influencer

When personal branding meets public service, the lines get blurred.

By Andrew Fiouzi, Passionfruit Contributor

Screenshots from Senator Chris Larson's Facebook of McLaurine Pinover

→ READ THE FULL STORY

Get started on those taxes

Hard to believe it’s almost tax time already, but for a whole host of reasons you should probably plan on filing early this year. H&R Block makes it easy with audit protection, their Maximum Refund Guarantee, and tax pros who know how to handle creators with lots of freelance contracts/expenses/sales.

File Now

IN THE BIZ

You can now write Instagram captions and comments with AI.
Newsletter platform and Substack rival Ghost is now connected to the fediverse.
Creators can now opt out of special event discounts for Twitch subs.
India’s government is committing $1 billion to boost its local creator economy.

PERSONALITIES

Lilly Singh Launches HYPHEN8, a YouTube Network for South Asian Creators

Lilly Singh wants to pay it forward.

By Charlotte Colombo, Passionfruit Contributor

READ THE FULL STORY →

PLATFORMS

Photo Illustration of several hands presenting fistfuls of dollars at a youtuber.

More Than Half of Brands Want To Work With YouTubers

Brands have become ‘fully committed’ to influencer marketing.

By Charlotte Colombo, Passionfruit Contributor

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UPCOMING EVENTS

the platform is March 21 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
CreateAU is March-April in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, Australia.
NAB Show is April 5-9 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Influencer Marketing Show is Apr. 22-25 in Davie, Florida.

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

Passionfruit’s latest episode of our Deep Linkers podcast is joined by Patrick H Willems, one of the seminal voices in the film video essay space.

Patrick began his career on YouTube as an aspiring filmmaker, but eventually cemented himself as a YouTube mainstay. We chatted with him about his work and how he views his impact on the creator ecosystem. Check it out!