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The Hidden Cost
of Viewbotting

How Fake Viewers Undermine Marketing on
Twitch, Kick, YouTube Live, and TikTok Live

Download the most in-depth 2025 report on fake viewership, industry risks, and what every marketing stakeholder needs to know.

Research by sc logo audiencly logo
What You’ll Learn

The latest data on viewbotting trends across Twitch, Kick, YouTube and TikTok.

How fake viewers distort campaign results and waste marketing budgets.

The real business risks for brands, agencies, and honest creators.

Proven methods for detecting and mitigating fraudulent engagement.

Expert recommendations and Twitch perspective provided for this report.

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What You’ll Learn

The latest data on viewbotting trends across Twitch, Kick, YouTube and TikTok.

How fake viewers distort campaign results and waste marketing budgets.

The real business risks for brands, agencies, and honest creators.

Proven methods for detecting and mitigating fraudulent engagement.

Expert recommendations and Twitch perspective provided for this report.

Viewbotting, using fake viewers to inflate livestream numbers, has become one of the biggest challenges in today’s livestreaming industry!
Whitepaper on viewbotting Twitch, Kick, YouTube, TikTok
  • Modern viewbots are more advanced than ever: rotating IPs, simulating chat, and even using AI to answer questions.
  • 10% of streamers actively engage in viewbotting, constantly adapting their tactics to evade detection.
  • In Q2 2025, suspicious Twitch streams generated 30M+ hours of fake watch time — comparable to the weekly viewership of Netflix’s top series.
  • On Kick, one in six streamers with 50+ average viewers used viewbots, producing nearly 20M hours of inflated watch time in just one quarter.
  • The analysis also incorporates commentary from Twitch on selected data segments, providing the platform’s perspective alongside our independent findings.
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  • Gamerant logo

    Now, Streams Charts has revealed some interesting data about how well Black Myth: Wukong is performing on Twitch. Not only was it the most-watched game on Twitch during its release, with 5.58 million hours watched on the platform, surpassing popular games like Grand Theft Auto 5, but it also peaked at 485,300 viewers on Twitch, being only surpassed by non-gaming streams.

  • Washington Post logo

    In the HCS offseason, “Halo Infinite” viewership continues to tread water. In November, average Twitch viewership hovered just shy of 1,500 viewers, according to the analytics service Streams Charts. A brief and small spike when Forge was released has come and gone, returning the game to its usual modest numbers. By this measure, the game remains about as popular as “Euro Truck Simulator 2.”

  • Fortune logo

    As people around the world watched the U.S. Presidential Election results unfold, millions glued themselves to streaming and digital platforms. Streams Charts, a database of live streaming statistics and analytics, reported overall streaming data of 84 million total hours watched, with the lion’s share of it —80.6%—on YouTube. Online video platform Rumble, often a popular pick with conservatives, came in second place with 13.1%.

  • The New York Times logo

    Days before its official release, Hogwarts Legacy became the single-player game with the highest number of concurrent viewers on the streaming site Twitch, according to the analytics site Streams Charts, beating titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Elden Ring.

  • CNET logo

    The streaming game is a tough business. 8.13 million channels went live at least once between April and June of this year, according to Streams Charts, a streaming analytics company. Of those 8 million-plus channels, 80% of the estimated 5.37 billion hours watched went to the top 0.3% of channels.

  • Variety logo

    While Twitch is likely the most commonly known live streaming platform, YouTube is actually the most popular live streaming destination, according to Streams Charts. It’s just another eld the video giant dominates, along with being the top site for regular online videos and the  most watched streaming platform in the U.S.

  • CNN Brasil logo

    O streamer e empresário Alexandre Borba, mais conhecido como Gaules, foi eleito pela Bloomberg como um dos brasileiros mais influentes da América Latina em 2024. Sendo um dos principais nomes no cenário de eSports do Brasil, Gaules foi o streamer mais assistido do mundo no primeiro trimestre deste ano, segundo dados divulgados pelo Streams Charts.

  • Gizmodo logo

    On top of that, the Kings League has risen through Twitch’s rankings like a rocket, further cementing its mainstream appeal. As of March 19, the tournament’s official channel was the third most-watched on Twitch since its debut on Jan. 1, with 27 million hours watched, according to the streaming data provider Streams Charts.

  • Independent logo

    Fox News also topped YouTube’s live streaming charts, amassing more than 1.1 million streams at its peak on election night, according to data from live streaming database Streams Charts. All-in-all, almost 84 million hours of content was streamed online for election coverage on Tuesday, with more than 80 percent of views coming from YouTube, Streams Charts found.

  • Dexerto logo

    Thanks to this massive, record-breaking subathon, Ironmouse has become the most-watched female streamer on the internet. According to Streams Charts, Ironmouse’s stream was watched for over 9M hours between July and September, where she was live for over 1,065 hours.

And trusted by many others

FAQ

  • What is viewbotting on Twitch?

    Viewbotting on Twitch is the practice of using fake or automated viewers to artificially inflate livestream numbers. According to our 2025 whitepaper, up to 10% of suspicious Twitch channels show persistent viewbotting patterns, with over 41,000 channels flagged in a single quarter.

  • What is viewbotting on Kick?

    Viewbotting on Kick involves similar tactics, with bots used to boost viewer counts and engagement metrics. In Q2 2025, the number of confirmed viewbotters on Kick tripled to nearly 3,000, and more than 16% of Kick streamers averaging 50+ live viewers were identified as viewbotters. This trend highlights a growing challenge for brands and marketers on the platform.

  • What is viewbotting on YouTube?

    On YouTube, viewbotting can distort both livestream and video analytics. Fake viewers can inflate watch time and engagement, making it harder for brands to assess true campaign performance. Our research shows that as detection methods improve, some bad actors are shifting their tactics to target YouTube Live.

  • What is viewbotting on TikTok?

    Viewbotting on TikTok Live is an emerging issue, with fake viewers used to manipulate popularity and discoverability. While TikTok’s algorithms are evolving, marketers should remain vigilant and use third-party analytics to spot suspicious spikes in viewership and engagement.