The ratio is an internet-exclusive form of collective shade, and Twitch user Keffals is using it to its fullest.
Starting in early 2022, Keffals began using the internet’s unique ability to subtly express dislike to her advantage, and it quickly paid off. In early April, Kefflas ratioed Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling not once, but twice, and in the process proved the surprising efficacy of this specific form of social media snub. With her unexpected and heavily criticized banning from Twitch still fresh in people’s minds, they’re taking a look back at her several successful former ratios.
What is a ratio?
The ratio is specific to Twitter, and has become an “unofficial Twitter law,” according to KnowYourMeme. It occurs when a tweet racks up more replies than it does likes or retweets, an occurrence that typically demonstrates distaste for the tweet in question. It can also be accomplished by someone responding to or retweeting the offending tweet and receiving a better response than the original.
So, for example, a tweet could be ratioed if it received only a few thousand likes and retweets, but racked up tens of thousands of replies. This is typically an indicator that irate people are taking to the comment section to air out their concerns, rather than liking the tweet to show their support.
Keffals shines using the other form of ratio, in which a responding user gets a better reaction than the original. This would occur if a tweet — say one about a hot-button topic like trans rights — were to get a few thousand likes and retweets, but a reaction to the tweet raked up tens of thousands in response. Both of these forms of online shade allow Twitter users to toss their support behind one user or another, or to showcase their distaste for a particular online take.
Who has Keffals ratioed in the past?
Keffals’ most high-profile ratios were delivered in quick tandem in early April of 2022, but her trend of ratioing TERFS actually started several weeks earlier. In response to a tweet from conservative broadcaster Esther K, which claimed “nobody ACTUALLY thinks transwomen are women. We are just being respectful,” Keffals challenged her followers to “prove her wrong.” She invited people to “like this tweet if you ACTUALLY think trans women are women.”
The effort quickly paid off, and saw Keffals’ tweet earn a whopping 101,200 likes and 9,826 retweets to Esther K’s 41,500 likes and 4,589 retweets. It began a trend that quickly saw the Twitch streamer gain far more attention online.
She’s managed to ratio a number of major conservative talking heads, with the likes of Ben Shapiro and Dave Rubin, to name a few, falling victim to her efforts. Her tweets going after Shapiro and Rubin saw her rack up 64,600 likes to Shapiro’s 7,688, and 5,147 likes to Rubin’s 1,544.
Soon after, she managed to ratio J.K. Rowling on two separate occasions, on April 1 and April 3. The first of these came about after Rowling once again shared her unasked-for opinions on trans issues to Twitter. Rowling retweeted a video from Dr. David Bell discussing “children’s gender dysphoria” and added a caption noting that “history will judge whether Dr. David Bell was a hateful transphobe or trying to alert people to a medical scandal, but he’s far from the only health professional raising these concerns.”
Keffals managed to flawlessly trounce Rowling’s tweet with a straightforward reply, stating that she has “always wanted to be the first trans person to ratio J.K. Rowling.” Within hours, Keffals’ reply had soundly ratioed Rowling’s original tweet, and within a few months the gap had grown even more. As it currently stands, Rowlings’ original tweet has 28,200 likes and 5,974 retweets, and Keffals’ response has 69,900 likes and 9,485 retweets.
A few days later, on April 3, Keffals once again turned her ratioing power on Rowling, after the 56-year-old author once again shared her trans-exclusionary opinions online. This time, the ratio came in response to Rowling’s commentary on trans women in sports. Rowling retweeted a complaint from Olympic medallist Sharron Davies regarding the “male abuse” she’s reportedly recieved from “so called trans activists.”
Rowling retweeted the sentiment with her “love to you and all the female athletes standing up, Sharron.” In response, Keffals once again used the power of the web against Rowling, ratioing her with a simple response noting that she’s “always wanted to ratio J.K. Rowling with a picture of my favorite female athlete,” alongside a photo of Lia Thomas, a trans woman who also so happens to be the NCAA Division 1 Champion in the 500-meter freestyle.
The response once again outpaced Rowling’s original tweet, this time collecting more than 40,000 likes to Rowling’s 33,000. The retweets are far more closely matched, but response to Keffals’ tweet was largely positive, as opposed to the broad criticism Rowling received in her comment section.
Keffals is making the ratio into a weapon to be wielded against those who stand against trans rights, and it’s working surprisingly well. Sure, she’s not necessarily silencing these regular trans-exclusionary advocates, but she is showing that more people support her views than do the toxic views touted by Rowling, Shapiro, and the rest. Perhaps we can all learn to use the internet to its fullest in a similar fashion.