French streamers' broadcasted death prompts outcry while authorities investigate possible abuse

The death of a French streamer during a days-long broadcast on the platform Kick, in which he'd allegedly been harmed and humiliated for viewers' entertainment, has sparked mass outrage and investigation by authorities.

Raphael Graven, 46, who went by Jean Pormanove online, died on Monday near Nice during a broadcast on the Kick livestreaming platform that had been running for more than 298 hours.

French media reported the broadcast was interrupted soon after Graven's co-streamers found him unconscious and lying on a bed.

Damien Martinelli, the prosecutor in the southern French city, said in a statement that the autopsy carried out on Thursday showed the death was not caused by trauma and "not related" to the intervention of another person. Some additional medical and toxicological analyses have been ordered, he said.

Graven, who went by the Pormanove alias, was a streamer and content creator, who had amassed hundreds of thousands of followers across TikTok, Instagram and, more recently, the streaming platform Kick.

While he started out posting gaming content, he had turned to Kick in recent years where viewers tuned in to see Graven humiliated and subjected to violence.

Videos on Kick show Graven being chained or lying on the ground, seemingly in pain. Clips and screenshots of streams posted on X in the wake of the streamer's death also show him suffering blows, strangulation, insults, being doused with paint and more.

An investigation in December by French publication Mediapart had previously reported the abuse of Graven and another streamer with a disability by two other co-streamers. They also reported that viewers cheered on the violence, often with ableist insults.

Mediapart reported that a few hours before he died, Graven's co-streamers slapped and punched him several times.

Martinelli, the prosecutor, said investigators conducted several interviews with people who were present at the time of his death and a large amount of material and video footage have also been seized, according to the Associated Press.

Graven's death came as a judicial investigation was already underway into alleged violence and humiliations committed against him, prompted by reports from French investigative website Mediapart about what it described as the "online abuse business."

The investigation, opened in December, is looking into "deliberate violence against vulnerable persons" and "spreading recordings of images related to offences involving deliberate violations of physical integrity," Martinelli's statement said.

The statement said two co-streamers allegedly involved in the case were briefly taken into custody in January but were released pending further investigation.

Investigators interviewed Graven and one of his co-streamers who both appeared to be victims of violence and humiliation, the prosecutor said. They "strongly denied being victims of violence, stating that the events were staged in order to 'generate a buzz' and make money."

Yassin Sadouni, a lawyer for one of two co-streamers seen abusing Graven, said on BFM television that Graven had cardiovascular problems and that the violence in the videos was not real but acted.

"All those scenes are just staged, they follow a script," he said.

Clara Chappaz, France's deputy minister in charge of artificial intelligence and digital affairs, called the violence Graven endured an "absolute horror" and gave her condolences to his family in a post on X in French.

"Jean Pormanove [Graven] was humiliated and mistreated for months live on the Kick platform," the minister wrote. "The responsibility of online platforms regarding the dissemination of illicit content is not optional: it is the law."

She also confirmed that she had contacted the platform about the matter.

France's high commissioner for childhood, Sarah El Hairy, also said on X that the death was horrifying and urged parents to "exercise the utmost vigilance" given the violent nature of the content in streams involving Graven.

Kick said all of Graven's co-streamers who participated in the broadcast have been banned pending the outcome of the investigation, and said they were "fully cooperating" with the investigation.

"We are deeply saddened by the passing of Jean Pormanove [Graven] and extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and community," the company said on X. "Our priority is to protect creators and ensure a safer environment on Kick."

The Kick video streaming platform is similar to Amazon's Twitch, but with a much more permissive moderation policy that allows gambling activities, sexually suggestive content or content involving humiliation or violence to be broadcast without automatic sanctions -- attracting influencers banned from other platforms.

The platform's community guidelines say that Kick "support creators expressing themselves freely," however "content that depicts or incites abhorrent violence including significant harm, suffering or death" is not permitted. The guidelines also say that "excessive violence" will not be tolerated, though the guidelines don't indicate how exactly such content might be handled by moderators.

According to a post on X by American internet personality Adin Ross, he and the Canadian rapper will cover Graven's funeral costs.

On Tuesday, Ross called the death "horrible and disgusting" and said he had spoken to Drake who agreed to team up to cover the bill. "This won't bring his life back, it's the least we can do," Ross wrote.

CBC News reached out to confirm Drake's involvement in paying funeral costs, but hasn't received a response.

Ross is a popular streamer who has 1.8 million followers of his own on Kick. He's also raised controversy in the past, being banned from the Twitch streaming platform after using slurs, and for platforming and interviewing figures from Trump to Andrew Tate.