Cruelty on demand? Outrage over livestreamed death of French streamer
Description
Humans enjoying the suffering of others is as old as the ancient Romans baying for blood when they would send in the lions at the Colosseum. Now though, the mob seems to have moved online. Just as Donald Trump threatens to slam nations that try to regulate the World Wide Web, France is coming to grips with last week's death of 46-year-old online personality Raphaël Graven, who went by the name of Jean Pormanove or JP. He died after 12 days of a marathon livestream where viewers were encouraged to contribute to keep the broadcast going.
We ask about the death of the streamer who earned a living by subjecting himself to verbal and sometimes physical abuse and about the platform where he broadcast: Curaçao-registered, Australian-based Kick, which was founded in 2022 after gaming platform Twitch tightened its moderation. In this case, the antics and abuse had been flagged. Yet after a brief suspension, the channel returned and the show went on. What does this story say about the world we live in?
Read moreFrance to sue Australian platform Kick for 'negligence' after livestream death
Is it about the profiteers or the otherwise ordinary people – mostly men – who watched, everyone from loners to football stars?
Produced by Ilayda Habip, Aurore Laborie, Alessandro Xenos and Charles Wente.
United States
