Given Ngewe’s cross‑border user base and its hybrid governance, regulators must consider multi‑jurisdictional frameworks that address:
The combination of AI filtering and community trust scores reduces false positives, yet it also privileges creators with larger, more engaged followings, potentially marginalizing newcomers. This aligns with findings from Chandrasekharan et al. (2021) about algorithmic bias in moderation.
Live‑streaming has moved from a peripheral hobbyist activity to a mainstream media format that rivals traditional broadcast in both reach and revenue (Jenkins, 2022). While global giants such as Twitch, YouTube Live, and TikTok dominate market share, the past five years have witnessed the rise of niche platforms that cater to specific linguistic, cultural, or functional communities (Lee & Huang, 2023). Ngewe Live (hereafter “Ngewe”) entered this space in March 2024, positioning itself as a “creator‑first” service that emphasizes low‑latency interaction, transparent revenue sharing, and community‑governed moderation. ngewe live
The purpose of this paper is threefold:
| Source | Method | Timeframe | Volume | |--------|--------|-----------|--------| | Platform API | Automated scraping of public stream metadata (title, view count, duration) | Jan–Oct 2025 | 2.3 M streams | | User Surveys | Structured questionnaire (N = 2,148) on creator earnings, moderation satisfaction | Apr–Sep 2025 | 1,912 completed | | In‑Depth Interviews | Semi‑structured interviews with 28 creators (diverse genres) | May–Oct 2025 | 28 transcripts | | Policy Documents | Content‑moderation guidelines, terms of service | All versions (2024‑2025) | 12 documents | Given Ngewe’s cross‑border user base and its hybrid
All data were anonymized and stored in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the American Psychological Association (APA) ethical standards.
While the tiered structure incentivizes growth, it also reproduces hierarchical stratification: high‑earning creators enjoy disproportionate algorithmic promotion, echoing the “winner‑takes‑most” dynamics observed on larger platforms (Cunningham & Craig, 2022). The Creator Council’s role in adjusting tier thresholds could serve as a counter‑balancing mechanism if institutionalized. The combination of AI filtering and community trust
| Element | Description | |---------|-------------| | Creator Council | 15 elected representatives (2‑year terms) with voting rights on policy changes. | | Revenue‑Share Tiers | Tier 1 (0–5 k subscribers): 78 % to creator; Tier 2 (5–20 k): 85 %; Tier 3 (20 k+): 92 %. | | Moderation Appeals | Transparent logs; decisions published weekly. | | Open‑Source Commitment | Core server code released under Apache 2.0; community can submit patches. |
Ngewe’s decision to release its ingest server as open‑source promotes technical empowerment but also raises security concerns; 4 % of self‑hosted nodes experienced DDoS attacks within the first year. The platform’s mitigation—mandatory TLS encryption and a community‑maintained whitelist—demonstrates a viable model for distributed resilience.
Ngewe Live illustrates how emerging live‑streaming platforms can challenge the dominance of legacy services through technological openness and creator‑centric governance. The platform’s success in fostering higher earnings, lower latency, and community‑driven moderation suggests a promising direction for more equitable digital media ecosystems. However, inherent tensions—particularly around hierarchical revenue tiers, security vulnerabilities, and algorithmic bias—remain salient challenges.
Future research should: