Abstract:
In June 2020, stories of abuse related to the streaming site Twitch flooded Twitter (now X). Hundreds of individuals turned to social media to share their experiences. We explored these allegations to better understand why individuals turned to social-media based informal systems of justice rather than traditional civil or criminal systems of justice. Our findings were situated within the context of community-based policing of social media. We used a semi mixed methods approach, quantifying 150 allegations with descriptive statistics, qualitatively exploring motivations and desired outcomes, and identifying trends and relationships. This study is unique in its approach to studying both on- and off-line relationships, and in focussing on the role of individual notions of justice in regulating the streaming environment. This study found that, perhaps contrary to initial assumptions, social media, community-based informal systems of justice were quite similar to traditional formal systems of justice. Individuals sought similar outcomes centred around consequentialism, deterrence, and protection of society, while organic elements of due process emerged. Our study ultimately contributes to our understanding of the conflicting power dynamics in the streaming industry, challenges some of the gender stereotypes attached to this industry, and adds a new dimension to the critiques of the use of community-based policing and informal systems of justice, where we see that justice, in some instances, can indeed be achieved.
