27-year-old Raffaela Raab is already polarizing as “The Militant Vegan” on TikTok and YouTube, and now she is also spreading her views on animal welfare on Twitch. Reason enough for MeinMMO to take a closer look at the activist.
Who is the Militant Vegan? The 27-year-old Austrian Raffaela Raab campaigns for animal welfare as “The Militant Vegan” on the internet. She describes herself as a doctor and works in a hospital, but in the long run she wants to be able to make a living from her activism.
She gained notoriety primarily through TikTok, where her videos sometimes reach several million views. In addition to her appearances on all common social networks and even on German television, the activist is now also on Twitch and has already caused a stir there.
Where does the name come from? “Militant Vegans” is actually a slur of vegans who allegedly want to impose their lifestyle on others. The 27-year-old has apparently been called “militant” so often that she’s made the term her trademark.
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The Militant Vegan polarizes
Why is she so controversial? As an activist for animal welfare, the militant vegan wants to convince people to give up animal products and stop supporting animal suffering. However, their methods are extremely controversial.
What actually is vegan? Vegans avoid all foods of animal origin. In contrast to vegetarians, they not only do not eat meat and fish, but also no eggs, dairy products or honey.
For many, it is not just a question of a special form of nutrition, but a way of life: as far as possible, they avoid products that were made with animals, including detergents with surfactants of animal origin or cosmetics made from animals has been tested.
How does the activist do it? In many videos, the militant vegan can be seen addressing and discussing with passers-by in pedestrian zones. In doing so, she often ruthlessly confronts her interlocutors with details of factory farming and animal suffering.
The activist hardly allows any counter-arguments and often interrupts her counterpart, often with deliberately provocative questions such as: “Do you think it’s ok to eat people?” or “Would you kill the animals yourself?”
The term speciesism is also used again and again: discrimination against living beings based on their species affiliation is equated with discrimination against people and is often placed on the same level as racism or the Holocaust.
Critics see it as a downplaying of the atrocities against people and an insult to the victims (via taz).
What’s the point? The 27-year-old is well aware that she offends with her style and that should probably be the case. In a conversation with YouTubers ApoRed and Leon Machère, she explained that she doesn’t want to be just another “cook vegan” or “health vegan”.
Rather, she asked herself how she could draw attention to the problem of factory farming and also used her marketing experience to make the topic accessible to a wide audience (via YouTube).
So it’s safe to assume that Militant Vegan is putting on a show, at least to a certain degree, and deliberately going for the shock factor.
Reach for the “good cause”
What is the militant vegan doing on Twitch now? The activist actually has only one goal: to reach as many people as possible. She now also uses the Twitch streaming platform for this. Although she has had an account since 2021, she has hardly streamed actively so far.
The 27-year-old has been seen regularly on Twitch since mid-February. Mainly featured in the “Just Chatting” category, she talks to guests about veganism, but also features the controversial game Hogwarts Legacy.
She already has over 24,600 followers and averages more than 1,000 viewers (via sullygnome).
She was already involved in her first twitch drama when she clashed in a call with the German streamer HoneyPuu. When she misspoke to the 22-year-old, HoneyPuu accused her of putting pressure on her interlocutors and not letting them think. She promptly ended the conversation (via YouTube).
Even the casting show Deutschland sucht den Superstar (DSDS) is already using the militant vegan to spread its message. It’s just the next logical step in establishing veganism in pop culture, she explained.
Even if the focus of her performance is less on singing, the 27-year-old is active as a musician on Spotify. The cover image is a screengrab from the music video for her latest single “Was du nicht will” (via YouTube).
Here’s a reaction to the performance:
Does the end justify the means?
How is that received? The Militant Vegan’s activism is meant to provoke, and she’s quite successful at it. For a while, it was hard to imagine a reaction compilation without excerpts from their videos. There she was only mildly smiled at by some, while others reacted with dislike and ridicule.
The 27-year-old’s methods are also controversial among vegans. Many, including 13-year vegan Twitch streamer Simon “Unge” Wiefels, believe their concerns and message are correct, but disagree with their methods, which they say are “catastrophic” (via YouTube).
Some fear that nobody can be convinced of a vegan lifestyle in this way, which would rather put people off. A vegan forum on reddit counters this: some people just need a step in the right direction.
Controversy surrounding transphobia and proximity to right-wing space
What criticism is there? Earlier this year, vegan YouTuber TiltedFloste released a video showing the Militant Vegan’s statements in a discord.
The activist has been accused of speaking out anti-trans and making “jokes” at the expense of people with disabilities. It is also supposed to offer a platform to right-wing extremists, which is particularly problematic with regard to their Holocaust comparisons (via YouTube).
What does the Militant Vegan say about this? These allegations against the 27-year-old are not new, but were summarized there again. She had previously denied the allegations (via Twitter).
It remains to be seen whether the militant vegan’s streaming appearance is just a short marketing gimmick, or whether she wants to permanently expand her online presence to include Twitch. Either way, she probably won’t be retiring from social media any time soon.
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