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For a decade, r/LiveStreamFail (LSF) has been the "beating heart" of Twitch culture, but at what cost?
One former reddit moderator went viral recently for posting a wild video addressed to Reddit's CEO, where he talks about the secret power he wielded in his role as moderator of Livestream Fail, a subreddit that catalogs news about the biggest streamers on Twitch for the parasocial fans who follow their every move.
But how did the Livestream Fail subreddit emerge, how did it become so influential, and how has its role in online culture evolved? Journalist Steven Asarch joins me to answer these questions. He's been covering the world of Livestream Fail for a decade.
From Destiny, to Asmongold, to Hasan Piker, LSF helps Twitch scandals break through on Elon Musk’s X ecosystem. Steven and I discuss how this viral clip culture actually works and how it can be weaponized. We talk about how the subreddit evolved from an "edgelord paradise" centered on Ice Poseidon to a political weapon used against progressive and women creators.
Steven explains the subreddit's origins and lore, and we reveal the truth about "clip farming," how billionaires are paying for right-wing rage bait, and how 30-second clips are fueling the alt-right pipeline.
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