Popular Twitch streamer Emily ‘ExtraEmily’ Zhang has declared that she will take an indefinite break from live streaming. The decision came amid the viewbot controversy, a scandal that has since drawn in Reddit moderators, platform administrators and thousands of viewers.
The clip that fueled the controversy
In early April, a video of ExtraEmily’s stream started spreading online. It showed a browser window with the name ViewBot.ai open when she was broadcasting.
The video went viral on Reddit and social media. Users started to wonder whether the tab was an indication of viewbot usage or not.
An announcement on the r/LivestreamFail from the mod team stated that several moderators tried to reproduce the pop-up on various browsers in incognito mode and on various mobile devices, but failed.
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The mod who deleted the original thread was later banned. The chat logs of the deleted moderator showed that he had already posted 6,464 messages in the Twitch chat of ExtraEmily by the start of April alone. That comes to about 380 messages a day – a number that was widely mocked on the Internet.
The reason behind the announcement
On April 21, ExtraEmily announced in a livestream that she was mentally burned out and was temporarily quitting streaming to take a break so that she could heal.
She made no direct response to the viewbotting accusations. The streamer claimed that she had been talking to other streamers like Nick “Nmplol” Polom and others to get advice during this time.
This is the first break she has had longer than one week, according to a report. ExtraEmily observed that the experience was weird yet needed.
Next steps for streamer
ExtraEmily clarified that she has no plans of never going online again, stating, “I do not think that I will leave the internet because I like my chat so much.” She also stated that she could begin a podcast or a Patreon to keep in touch with her fans until then.
A larger problem on twitch
This incident is indicative of a broader problem on the platform. A report by Dexerto noted that Reed Duchscher, the CEO of influencer talent agency Night Media, previously recommended that streamers purchase viewbots because they are at a competitive disadvantage.
ExtraEmily has so far not issued a statement regarding the exact allegations. The streaming community is still on the lookout.
