A new report from the analytics site Streams Charts claims viewbotting on both Twitch and Kick has led to tens of millions of hours of fake watch time inflating platform metrics.
According to Streams Charts, more than 40,000 Twitch channels were affected by viewbotting, with 4,400 heavily botted, leading to an estimated 30 million fake hours watched. Kick was also hit hard, with the report claiming that 1 in 6 streamers on the platform relied on viewbots, generating over 20 million fake hours and that’s in just Q2 2025 alone.
The findings come just months after Twitch announced new changes to its anti-viewbotting systems in July 2025. At the time, CEO Dan Clancy explained that the company was taking a cautious approach to avoid mistakenly “filtering out real users,” but insisted Twitch remained committed to combating fake engagement. Twitch also previously addressed community concerns that viewbotting could be used to mislead advertisers, telling Dexerto that it was actively working on detection and enforcement measures.
Millions of hours reportedly viewbotted on Twitch and Kick
Streams Charts recently teased a forthcoming whitepaper, claiming its figures suggest that in the second quarter of 2025, viewbotting inflated audience metrics on a massive scale. While Twitch has confirmed ongoing adjustments to its detection systems, Kick has not yet publicly addressed the tension surrounding viewbotting.
For Kick, the claim that one in six streamers relied on viewbots underscores just how widespread the issue may be across both platforms. If accurate, the figures indicate that publicly reported audience metrics on Twitch and Kick alike may not reflect genuine viewership.
Kick co-owner Trainwreck has even claimed that some streamers are paying $20K a week for viewbots. Meanwhile, Twitch CEO Dan Clancy has previously stated that he has “no idea” about how many viewbots are plaguing the Amazon-owned platform.
Viewbotting has long been one of livestreaming’s most controversial issues, and while Twitch has denied a decline in viewership given their actions toward botting, the live streaming community is seeking answers given these new numbers.
Dexerto has reached out to both Twitch and Kick for comment.
