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Dr Brandon Harris

@drbrandonharris.bsky.social
1.8K followers 506 following 36 posts

Husband + cat dad + Prof in AL studying: twitch, gaming, platforms, media industries, labor, & content creators one unhinged study at a time.

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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
WH using COD effects to make a .exe meme edit using real footage is heinous. A joyful, if sometimes toxic, process developed by gaming community. WH continues catering to misogynistic gaming culture while dehumanizing victims, reducing war to wht gamers call a “skill issue”. Shameful
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
@chefboibex.bsky.social Hi Bex, are you planning on writing a story about how French Kick streamers tortured Pormanov to death while live? If so, I can speak to how platform governance and terms of service agreements can allow this behavior in the first place. @bloggeronpole.bsky.social rec'd you
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
I'll be discussing the state of political discourse on Twitch. Creators develop on- and offline harassment campaigns or "smear" attacks on rivals. I use "cycles of antagonism" to explain the cyclical nature of smear campaigns lnkd.in/gc6Jrd_J 3pm EST/12pm PST- VOD later
Model of "Cycles of Antagonism", in which "Creator A" and "Creator B" participate in never-ending antagonistic skirmishes. These often take the form of Creator A making a claim about Creator B in their content, then Creator B replies to these claims in content of their own. Since both creators are paid for content creation, these cycles of antagonism are likely to continue forever until external measures are taken- like a platform banning one of the creators, or one of the creators deciding to retire.
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
Headed to #ICA25, excited to share 2 presentations w/ yall at the #DebatingCreatorCulture precon— talking how anon hate creators and NIL athletes do influencer work. Looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones, say hi 👋🏻
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
Was recently quoted in CNN on the resurgence of the r-word as a slur by figures like Joe Rogan, Musk, and Ye. Cruelty is good for business in the creator economy but audiences need to reject it to make it less profitable lnkd.in/g2Um_b6J Thanks Scottie Andrew!
Screenshot from articleScreenshot from articleScreenshot from articleScreenshot from article
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
Me and @bowmanspartan.bsky.social wrote on trad'l sports franchises experimenting w/ esports & gaming content for the Beyond Sports Initiative. icir.ua.edu/bsi/ NFL channel incorporated athletes to create new entertainment genre, NBA made esports tourneys but struggled for viewership
icir.ua.edu
Beyond Sports Initiative - Institute for Communication and Information Research | The University of Alabama
Part of the University of Alabama
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Reposted by Dr Brandon Harris
Dr Carolina Are / Blogger On Pole @bloggeronpole.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
In a new paper for Convergence, @pamogranite.bsky.social & I examine the challenges Instagram & TikTok creators at risk of de-platforming face when holding onto communities, arguing that these spaces' turn towards entertainment & selling is producing fatigue: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
we talking about twitch again in games and culture class! teaching some of my favorite readings and doing twitch field trips in class... last week we found a musician playing guitar, class asked me to request "mr brightside" in chat, streamer said we had poor taste... poggers
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
Excited to share ongoing work w/ The University of Alabama College of Communication & Information Sciences family this Friday. I'll present some current research on inconsistent platform governance on Twitch and how that benefits androcentric hegemony in gaming and esports communities.
Infographic - 
Event name: Research Luncheon
Who: Dr. Jack Lipei Tang & Dr. Brandon Harris
When: March 21, 2025, 11 AM - 12 PM
Where: Ph 466 or Zoom
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
@tsingleton.bsky.social so great to connect with you at IACS this weekend!
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
Headed to Chicago for the @IACSacademic conference, presenting ongoing work on professional sports leagues that are experimenting with esports and content creation w/coauthor @bowmanspartan.bsky.social — see my Beyond Sports Institute folks soon 🙌🏼
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
5 more days to submit to the @icagames.bsky.social precon on toxic masculinity! All disciplines are welcome because this is a problem that affects all of us, not just the games industry. Join us :) icagames.org/2025preconfe...
icagames.org
ICA Game Studies 2025 Preconference: Draining the Swamp: Toxic Masculinity as A Threat to The Media Industries and Beyond – ICA Game Studies
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
Roses are red, violets are blue, plz keep applying to our tox masc precon In June! Submissions due Feb 28, all disciplines & fields encouraged to submit and join our conversation on how tox masc is a threat to the media industries and beyond icagames.org/2025preconfe...
media.tenor.com
a blackboard with red hearts and the words happy valentine 's day on it
ALT: a blackboard with red hearts and the words happy valentine 's day on it
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Reposted by Dr Brandon Harris
Tom Divon | توم ديفون | תום דיבון @tomdivon.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
New publication! 🚨 Together with my brill team (@taylorannabell.bsky.social & @cgoanta.bsky.social), we explore how parents turn kids into commodities on TikTok, diving into the nuances of *kidfluencers* & raising legal questions about platform governance. See🧵 journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1...
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
Thrilled to be included in this list of finalists from @djeditorialteam in 2024. Go check out @MaxwellFoxman @william_partin and I's article on Twitch streamers doing news work on the platform - innovation and collapsing boundaries while producing news for fans doi.org/10.1080/2167...
Digital journalism names 8 articles as finalists for outstanding articles of the year.
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
We’re all still waiting for ICA submission decisions, but a reminder that ICA GSD is hosting onsite precon on toxic masc in gaming & media industries June 12. Submissions due Feb 8th icagames.org/2025preconfe...
Flyer for International Communication Association preconference, “Draining the Swamp: Toxic Masculinity as a Threat to the Media Industries and Beyond”
When:  June 12, 2025
Where: Denver, CO
Questions and submissions: icagameprecon2025@gmail
Submissions due Feb 8th
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
Very excited for my games & media course this semester! Lots of exciting readings, guest speakers, activities, playing games, and thinking about how games are made/what they mean and represent in our culture. Hope my students are ready for me to absolutely nerd out on this every week
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 28/12/2024
Watching the beast games show on Amazon and I think Jimmy has finally transformed/emerged into a villain.. clip of him screaming “find you someone money can’t buy” while forcing ppl to compete for 5mil in his own squid games seems like he’s taken a turn for the worst
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
Get your “Netflix is crashing, they bad at livestreaming” memes ready for the Beyoncé halftime show with a football game sandwiched around it next week
media.tenor.com
a woman wearing a cowboy carter sash rides a horse
Alt: Beyoncé wearing a cowboy carter sash rides a horse, artwork from the cowboy carter album
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
I didn't think I would get to include "Twitch thot" in my manuscript but here we are... misogyny in streaming isn't v. creative. You can swap "topless meta" or "hot tub meta" and achieve the same article today www.polygon.com/2018/6/27/17...
polygon.com
Streamer Amouranth is latest example of ‘Twitch thot’ harassment problem
Amouranth says she’s suffered harassment, doxing threats
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
Almost 20 years of unsupervised internet culture straight to the dome and look at me now…
Screenshot of historic “Charlie the Unicorn” video with the three unicorns.
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
@combatwombat1.bsky.social WELCOME BROTHER
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
Yes!! Love when my friends publish amazing things, congrats on publication day, yall have been working on this for a while and it’s out in the world now!
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
safety.twitch.tv/s/article/An... More inconsistent governance from twitch, by banning streamers from using Zionist as personal critique, while allowing streamers to critique the political movement & policies… destiny, Ethan Klein, asmongold organizing off platform complaint campaigns to censor all
Twitch policy update: in line with that approach, starting today, using the term “Zionist” to attack or demean another individual or group of people on the basis of their background or religious belief against our rules. We recognize that “Zionist” and “Zionism” also refer to a political movement. Using the term to refer to the political movement, whether in a supportive or critical way, does not violate our hateful conduct policy”
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
Starting so soon! Making some coffee now 🙌🏼
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
First of many #ccsnchats is tomorrow! Live discussion at 9am pt/12pm et. www.eventbrite.com/e/ccsn-chats...
Infographic- CCSN Chats: Academic & Industry Insights Into Creator Culture
Featuring: Brooke Erin Duffy, David Craig, Jess Rauchberg, and Michelle Beaver
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Reposted by Dr Brandon Harris
Dr. Christine H. Tran @thechristinet.bsky.social · 11/11/2024
Now Live™️ (and asynchronous)! My interview with UAlbertaArts’s Playful Horizons featured speaker series about the past, future & artificial present of ✨🔮 livestreaming✨ 🔮 youtu.be/gB7lhBAzE6M?...
youtu.be
✨ Meet Christine H. Tran! ✨ (Playful Horizons Speaker Series)
YouTube video by UAlbertaArts
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 11/11/2024
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.... "Ratio" is a multi-platform strategy for commanding visibility and punching up for Hasan Piker. Ratios occur in the wild, but as an influencer, his audience boosts his posts and allow for intentional ratioing-- framing discourse online in cycle of antagonism
journals.sagepub.com
“Don’t Make Me Ratio You Again”: How Political Influencers Encourage Platformed Political Participation - Brandon C. Harris, Maxwell Foxman, William C. Partin, 2023
Ratioing describes when a reply earns more likes than an original post on social media. They also offer influencers opportunities to convert audience attention ...
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 11/11/2024
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... Recasting Twitch compares Patriots Soapbox, Hasan, WaPo doing news on Twitch. WaPo had limited participation in the platform's norms & is dormant, PSB formed grassroots and networks for info, & hasan did influencer self-branding and is now face of news on twitch
tandfonline.com
Recasting Twitch: Livestreaming, Platforms, and New Frontiers in Digital Journalism
Despite Twitch’s dominant position in Western livestreaming markets, institutional journalists rarely produce content on the platform. This paper investigates how journalistic practices, cultures, ...
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 11/11/2024
Hey everyone, I study creators/influencers, twitch, and cultural production. Check out two articles on twitch streamers creating news broadcasts - www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... - & how twitch streamers develop multi-platforms for gaining visibility journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
Recasting Twitch: Livestreaming, Platforms, and New Frontiers in Digital Journalism
Despite Twitch’s dominant position in Western livestreaming markets, institutional journalists rarely produce content on the platform. This paper investigates how journalistic practices, cultures, ...
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 20/08/2023
Has anyone noticed more ppl using this app since Elmo is trying to force ID verification ?? I just want to cheer on my friends’ work and shitpost 😂
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Dr Brandon Harris @drbrandonharris.bsky.social · 07/07/2023
Are we all treating this the same as bird ap? Also, the "Sky Follower Bridge" Chrome Extension has been useful so far. A bit cumbersome if you follow lots of ppl, but overall I am thankful for the tool
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