Twitch was launched on June 6, 2011, and has since attracted more than 15 million daily active users, according to the Influencer Marketing Hub. Twitch is a live streaming video platform and has gained popularity primarily for gaming,  but the site is involved  in a heated conspiracy. The up sides of twitch are live streaming, chats and messaging, product announcements, and the fact that broadcasters get paid. However, the downsides are that it is live streaming so what will happen doing the video is uncertain. It's not unusual to hear inappropriate or offensive language,  witness game violence, and deal with explicit images. Other downsides are that advertising and membership fees add up fast, and the company is being accused of favoritism. 

But why do streamers switch in the first place? Past Youtubers are converting to Twitch because they make money on Twitch.  For example, Ninjia is one of the most popular streamers with 10 million followers,  and he got his start on Youtube as well as other streaming sites. His net worth is $6 million, and he earns about $600,000 a month. Broadcasters earn their money through subscriptions. Followers pay between $4.99-$24.99 to follow their favorite channels. However, the argument  is that Twitch favors women over men, and 1000 Dreams Fund has helped add to this swirling conspiracy. 1000 Dream Fund Twitch Broadcaster Grant Mission is to help 10 popular female live streamers get as many viewers to donate to the program from March 1 to April 1. Many people are saying this is favoritism towards women and that they are taking over Twitch, but according to  a Twitch Gender Study by Infogram, only 10% of the top 500 most followed streamers are women. Another part of the study based on a random polling of 2,500 channels  found that only 20% of all the streamers were women, and that means men take the lead with 70% of streamers. 

Even faced with these statistics men are lashing out against the charity and Twitch. One male user said, “Thing is, they aren’t required to give you anything and you’re not entitled to their money just because you exist… if you’re so against that then why support twitch?” A female user stated, “ Until you’re a woman streamer, you’ll never understand what we go through.” 

There have been other opportunities for men and women alike.“2012 companies like Twitch, SteelSeries and Alienware gave out scholarships worth $50,000 to programming students and of the five people selected, four were men. Maybe it wasn’t openly said that it would mostly be aimed at male gamers,  but that doesn’t mean it didn't happen” (The Sassologist.com).  

~Hailey