$999,999.99 donation glitch stirs controversy, Why Twitch streamers are targeted
Twitch streamers receive fake donations of large amounts, causing confusion and frustration. Twitch has not commented on the issue.
Twitch streamers are often grateful for donations from their viewers, as they are a major source of income for them. Unlike other forms of revenue, such as subscriptions, bits, and ads, donations go directly to the streamers without any cut from Twitch.
But, some streamers have recently fallen victim to a new prank that involves fake donations of huge amounts.
On September 17, several popular streamers, including Forsen and Jankos, received notifications of donations that seemed too good to be true.
For example, Forsen was interrupted during his Minecraft speedrun attempt by a donation of $999,999.99 from a user named ‘Furrsen’. “What the f***, bro. How did you do that?” Forsen asked, pausing his game to check the validity of the donation. He quickly realized that it was not a real transaction, but a glitch in the system.
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By his facial expression, it was obvious that he hardly believed that someone actually donated him that much of money, rather his reaction was how it had happened.
“Obviously, it’s a bug,” he said later. He added,
"It’s just gonna become a clown fiesta. [Twitch] should probably look into that, whatever it is. It wasn’t even donations, he just bypassed it somehow. First one to do it, props to him.”
The famous StarCraft streamer was not alone in receiving these fake donations. Other streamers also reported getting similar alerts from anonymous or fake accounts.
However, none of these donations were actually processed or confirmed by Twitch. They were just manipulated alerts that somehow bypassed the normal donation system.
The Amazon-owned platform has not yet commented on this issue or how it happened. Until then, streamers will have to be careful of these pranksters who try to trick them with false donations. These donations may seem flattering at first, but they can also be frustrating and distracting for the streamers who rely on their viewers’ support.
