Why fans are blasting Twitch over an AI emote

Streaming platform Twitch is now under fire after fans have accused its new Christmas emote of being created with AI.

Emotes are integral to the Twitch experience. Harkening back to the Justin.tv days, the feature allows fans to express themselves across language barriers using tiny in-chat images. Fans have pushed the format to its limit, petitioning Twitch to create new emotes and creating browser extensions to generate their own. While the feature is beloved, Twitch’s latest addition to the emote roster is causing controversy among fans for appearing to feature AI content.

Here’s what has fans up in arms about Twitch’s latest attempt at a Christmas emote.

Did Twitch use AI to make a Christmas emote?

Twitch solidly appeared to use AI to make its 2024 Christmas emote, but it has confirmed it either way.

The controversy began on December 7, 2024, when Twitch unveiled its new seasonal emote for the holidays. The emote, titled catinthechat, featured a kitten opening its mouth similar to a PogChamp while wearing a Christmas hat. It’s cute, inoffensive, and festive. However, it’s not the content that fans are upset with, but the method allegedly used to create it.

The social media post immediately met backlash as fans accused the company of generating the emote using artificial intelligence. A community note pointed out the strange fidelity of the emote compared to other Twitch mainstays. The smoothness of the fur and inconsistent lighting in the eyes also hinted toward AI image generation. Of course, posters used the opportunity to show off their art skills using their own cats as a base.

Other fans were quick to point out how artists make up a significant portion of Twitch’s streamers. They claimed the sheer size of Twitch didn’t justify using AI tools to create emotes, and that an actual artist should have been employed instead.

Twitch has yet to respond to the allegations. The AI Twitch emote is still available to earn on the platform. Streamers big and small can earn the emote for their channel by streaming with the new shared viewers and chat feature for at least 15 minutes. To qualify, streamers must also have the tag “holidayhoopla” in their stream title.