QUEBEC, CANADA: Twitch streamers HasanAbi and xQc are facing criticism for allegedly 'stealing' YouTube content by posting their reactions to videos. Famous streamers now watch other people's content while offering their own ideas in reaction videos, which are incredibly popular and frequently receive more views than the original videos they respond to.
Smaller channels may benefit greatly from this trend, but it may also have the reverse effect, depriving content creators of prospective viewers. When xQc and Hasan both responded to a video posted by YouTube user 'LEMMiNO', the situation erupted, leading many to criticize the broadcasters for their lack of productivity.
‘We’re close to another giant copyright case’
Social media users attacked xQc and Hasan in a series of tweets that went viral, even going so far as to demand that YouTube remove them. Streamer Legacy Killa said, “Hasan and others will watch a creators hour long documentary with little commentary and take a ten-minute bathroom break as the video continues to play. I swear, we’re close to another giant copyright case happening in the not so distant future because of sh*t like this.” He added, “It's honestly a bit depressing seeing a highly edited video from a small creator get like 100,000 views & then a massive streamer uploading their "reaction" with the thumbnail stolen getting 5 times the views, sometimes more,” he added. One fan commented, “If I was that small time creator I'd be throwing out copyright strikes left right and centre. I'd be fine if they was interaction or better discussion with chat but just reuploading with minor interaction would piss me off.”
‘I paused like crazy’
On X, previously named Twitter, Bub Films posted an image of a recent xQc reaction stream along with a message that read, “Lemmino spends months researching, scripting, and editing a video just for react streamers to reupload the entire thing and provide zero input.”
However, xQc weighed in to defend himself and his material after reading the tweet and the response it garnered. “I paused like crazy, I added a lot of commentary… the chat was getting mad at me,” xQc said. He also claimed that someone messaged him and told him to “shut the f*** up.”
xQc asserted that "a lot of it is going to be second screen content," calling the bulk of broadcasts "s***" entertainment that viewers turn on in the background while engaging in other activities like playing video games.
