Keffals

Early life and education

Clara Sorrenti was born on March 25, 1994, and grew up in Canada. From a young age, she was an avid video game player, using the online handle "Keffals" while playing titles such as Team Fortress 2 and Garry's Mod. She realized she was transgender by the age of 12, a key moment in her personal development. At 18, in 2013, she traveled to Thailand with her parents to undergo gender-affirming surgery, an experience that solidified her transition. She attended the University of Western Ontario. Her early engagement with online communities and her personal journey of transition would later form the foundation of her public persona and activism.

Political involvement and early activism

Clara Sorrenti's initial foray into politics involved volunteering with the New Democratic Party, giving her early exposure to Canadian electoral politics. Her political engagement intensified following the 2016 election of Donald Trump in the United States, which she saw as a catalyst for increased right-wing sentiment. This led her to join the Communist Party of Canada and become an organizer for the Young Communist League's chapter in London, Ontario, focusing on youth outreach and political education. Sorrenti contested two elections under the Communist Party banner, seeking public office to advance her political views. She ran in the 2018 Ontario general election and the 2019 Canadian federal election, though she was not successful in either race, receiving a relatively small share of the vote in her constituencies. She has since ended her affiliation with both the Communist Party of Canada and the Young Communist League.

Online career and transgender advocacy

Sorrenti began her online career streaming video games on Twitch but pivoted to political commentary in response to a wave of anti-trans legislation introduced in various U.S. states in 2021 and 2022. She became a vocal critic of policies like Texas Governor Greg Abbott's directive to treat gender-affirming care for transgender youth as child abuse, and she spoke out against an Alabama law that made providing such care to minors a felony, stating on stream, "They literally want these kids to fucking kill themselves." In April 2022, she raised US$205,000 for the Campaign for Southern Equality to support transgender youth, demonstrating her ability to mobilize her audience for direct action. A month later, she called attention to a VOD of a 16-year-old trans Twitch streamer who was taken into foster care after a police wellness check. Her stream provided a platform for trans perspectives on news, leading The Washington Post to profile her in June 2022 as part of a new class of political streamers, with journalist Taylor Lorenz describing her channel as "one of the few media outlets where viewers can hear the news from a trans person." Sorrenti's commentary also addressed the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act and criticized the false claim, shared by figures like U.S. Congressman Paul Gosar and Infowars, that the Uvalde school shooter was transgender.

She supports her streaming work through fan donations on platforms like Patreon and PayPal, which fund an editor and graphic designer, allowing her to produce more polished content. In July 2022, her Twitch account was suspended for 28 days, later reduced to 14 days, for a thumbnail featuring hateful slurs that were actually images of harassment directed at her, and she temporarily streamed on YouTube during the ban. Sorrenti joined Twitter in December 2020 and amassed over 100,000 followers, gaining a reputation for "ratioing" other users and engaging in high-profile arguments. Her online disputes have included arguments with former Twitch streamer Destiny, commentators Tim Pool and Candace Owens, activist Lauren Southern, and author J.K. Rowling, often centering on transgender issues. In 2023, she participated in a Progressive Victory livestream interviewing U.S. Representative Ro Khanna about youth political participation and ways to push progressive political sentiment, alongside fellow streamers Destiny, Emma Vigeland, and Vaush. Sorrenti announced a career break in February 2023 to enter rehab for narcotics addiction, retired from streaming in July 2024, but announced a return to streaming in March 2025 via a post on Bluesky, stating she would not return to social media platforms.

• April 2022: Raised US$205,000 for the Campaign for Southern Equality.
• May 2022: Called attention to a VOD of a 16-year-old trans Twitch streamer taken into foster care.
• June 2022: Profiled by Taylor Lorenz in The Washington Post.
• July 2022: Twitch account suspended for 28 days, reduced to 14 days. Streamed on YouTube during ban.
• December 2020: Joined Twitter, eventually gaining over 100,000 followers.
• 2023: Interviewed U.S. Representative Ro Khanna on a Progressive Victory livestream.
• February 2023: Announced break to enter rehab for narcotics addiction.
• July 2024: Announced retirement from streaming.
• March 2025: Announced return to streaming via Bluesky, but not to social media.

Harassment campaign and swatting incident

In August 2022, Clara Sorrenti became the target of an intense, coordinated harassment campaign that she attributes to the forum Kiwi Farms, a site known for targeting individuals from marginalized communities. The campaign included doxxing, false police reports, and swatting, severely impacting her safety and that of her family, and it followed an earlier swatting attempt through the Toronto Police Service that London police were reportedly unaware of due to lack of inter-service correspondence. On August 5, 2022, London Police Service officers arrested Sorrenti at gunpoint at her home after an email, sent in her deadname, threatened to kill her mother and London city councillors, leading to computers and phones being confiscated by police. Sorrenti stated that police used her deadname during the arrest and misgendered her when speaking to her mother, referring to her as her mother's "son," which she believed constituted a hate crime. The London Police Service stated any use of her former name was based on prior records and not deliberate, though the chief said he would review the officers' conduct, and an internal investigation in December 2022 found no audible evidence that officers deadnamed her. Following the swatting, Sorrenti set up a GoFundMe to fund a move and potential lawsuit, though the funds were temporarily frozen after being mass-reported by trolls.

She relocated to a hotel, but harassers discovered her location, partly through a photo of hotel bedsheets posted on her Discord server, and inundated the room with pizza deliveries ordered in her deadname, a practice known as "pizza bombing." The harassment extended to her family, who received robocalls informing them they had been doxxed and had their personal information including email addresses, phone numbers, and home addresses posted online. Her Uber account was also hacked, resulting in hundreds of dollars in fraudulent food deliveries charged to her card. Due to the relentless targeting and her belief that London police lacked the resources to handle such international cyber harassment, Sorrenti announced she would leave Canada for an undisclosed location in Europe in late August 2022, but was doxxed again after arriving in Belfast, Northern Ireland, forcing her to move once more. Public pressure on the internet infrastructure company Cloudflare, under the #DropKiwiFarms campaign launched by Sorrenti and her supporters, led the company to terminate services to Kiwi Farms on September 3, 2022, citing increasingly dangerous forum activity. Sorrenti declared victory on September 5, though the site soon returned online using another service provider, VanwaTech, as confirmed by The Daily Dot on September 6. The incident prompted the London Police Service to draft reforms for its treatment of transgender suspects.

• August 5, 2022: Swatting and arrest by London Police Service at gunpoint.
• August 2022: GoFundMe fundraiser frozen after being mass-reported.
• August 17, 2022: Hotel location doxxed. Inundated with pizza deliveries (pizza bombing).
• August 2022: Family members doxxed. Personal emails, phone numbers, and addresses posted online. Robocalls received.
• August 2022: Uber account hacked, leading to fraudulent food charges.
• Late August 2022: Announced move to Europe to escape harassment.
• September 2022: Doxxed again after relocating to Belfast, Northern Ireland.
• September 3, 2022: Cloudflare terminated services to Kiwi Farms.
• September 6, 2022: Kiwi Farms returned online using VanwaTech.

Human rights complaint and legal actions

Months after the swatting incident, Clara Sorrenti filed a human rights complaint against the London Police Service and the London Police Services Board, seeking accountability for her treatment. The application, filed by her lawyer Justin W. Anisman, alleges discrimination based on her gender identity and expression, contrary to section 1 of the Ontario Human Rights Code. Sorrenti stated she had warned LPS in March 2022 about her risk of being swatted, but police arrived at her home with assault rifles and arrested her without warning for uttering threats, despite her being the victim. The complaint argues that police failed to properly investigate the swatting threat as a hate crime, used excessive force during her arrest, and failed to respect her gender identity by using her deadname and misgendering her. Sorrenti also alleged that during the arrest, an officer groped her breast and said, "yep, it's a she," an allegation that forms a serious part of the complaint. She expressed hope that the complaint would lead to better training for officers on gender identity issues, the implementation of body cameras for interactions with the trans community, and improved accountability and reporting systems for harassment and discrimination. The London Police Service declined to comment on the alleged complaint, citing it as an active legal matter, while Sorrenti's lawyer stated the goal was to improve police treatment for all minorities and vulnerable people through systemic change.

Public and political reactions

The harassment campaign against Clara Sorrenti and her subsequent legal actions elicited significant public and political commentary, reflecting the broader cultural debates surrounding transgender rights and online safety. New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh responded to the August 2022 swatting incident on Twitter, stating, "Trans folk, and especially trans activists, deserve the freedom to make themselves heard. Not to be doxed and swatted, arrested at gunpoint and deadnamed repeatedly. No one deserves this," offering a direct condemnation from a major federal political leader. Media coverage from outlets like CBC News, Global News, and The Washington Post brought national and international attention to her case, with experts quoted in some reports highlighting red flags in the police response. The London Police Service's handling of the incident was scrutinized, with the police chief vowing to catch the perpetrator and later agreeing to review officer conduct, though the internal investigation in December 2022 concluded officers had acted appropriately, a finding that did not address all of Sorrenti's allegations. Her campaign to pressure Cloudflare to drop Kiwi Farms mobilized her online followers and broader activist communities under the #DropKiwiFarms hashtag, demonstrating the power of digital advocacy to influence corporate policy, albeit temporarily.

Electoral history

Clara Sorrenti ran for political office twice as a candidate for the Communist Party of Canada, representing a phase of her activism focused on traditional electoral politics. Her campaigns were part of her early political activism following the 2016 U.S. presidential election, which she viewed as a turning point. She sought a seat in the Ontario legislature during the 2018 provincial general election, campaigning on a platform aligned with communist principles. The following year, she ran in the 2019 Canadian federal election, again under the Communist Party banner, attempting to gain a seat in the House of Commons. She was unsuccessful in both attempts, failing to secure election to public office and receiving a minimal percentage of the vote in her respective ridings. These experiences preceded her shift to full-time online commentary and activism.

Questions about Keffals

What is Keffals known for?

Keffals, whose real name is Clara Sorrenti, is known as a Canadian Twitch streamer, transgender rights activist, and left-wing political commentator. She began advocating for transgender rights in 2021 and 2022, specifically speaking out against anti-trans legislation from Texas Governor Greg Abbott and raising US$205,000 in April 2022 for the Campaign for Southern Equality. She is also known for being the target of a severe online harassment campaign in 2022 involving swatting, doxxing, and pizza bombing, which she attributed to the forum Kiwi Farms. Her activism and streaming career were profiled by Taylor Lorenz in The Washington Post in June 2022.

What happened in the Keffals swatting incident?

On August 5, 2022, Clara Sorrenti was swatted at her London, Ontario home. Police arrested her at gunpoint after receiving a false email threat sent in her deadname that claimed she intended to kill her mother and city councillors. She stated officers used her deadname and misgendered her during the incident, and an internal police investigation later found no audible evidence of deadnaming. This led to an internal police review and, later, a human rights complaint filed by Sorrenti against the London Police Service alleging discrimination.

What is Keffals's connection to Kiwi Farms?

Keffals has stated that the sustained harassment campaign against her in 2022 was orchestrated by users of the online forum Kiwi Farms. This campaign included her swatting and arrest in London, Ontario on August 5, 2022, as well as the pizza bombing of a hotel she stayed at later that month after her location was discovered. In response, pressure from the #DropKiwiFarms campaign led Cloudflare to terminate services to Kiwi Farms on September 3, 2022, though the site returned online using another provider, VanwaTech, on September 6, 2022. Sorrenti declared victory after the Cloudflare action, stating the campaign had succeeded in its aim to shut the site down.

Did Keffals run for political office?

Yes, before her full-time streaming career, Clara Sorrenti was involved in electoral politics. She was a member of the Communist Party of Canada and an organizer for the Young Communist League in London, Ontario. She ran as a Communist Party candidate in two elections: the 2018 Ontario general election and the 2019 Canadian federal election. She did not win either race and has since ended her affiliation with the party.

What legal action has Keffals taken?

Following the swatting incident, Clara Sorrenti filed a human rights complaint against the London Police Service and the London Police Services Board. The complaint alleges discrimination based on her gender identity and expression, citing the use of her deadname, misgendering, and excessive force during her arrest. She also alleged an officer groped her during the arrest. She hopes the complaint will lead to improved police training and better accountability in interactions with the transgender community.

Is Keffals still streaming?

Clara Sorrenti announced her retirement from streaming in July 2024. However, in March 2025, she announced on Bluesky that she would be returning to streaming. She stated that while she would resume streaming, she did not plan to return to social media platforms. Her career has also included breaks, such as in February 2023 when she entered rehab for narcotics addiction.

Sources and further reading

• Keffals (Wikipedia)
• Twitch streamer and trans activist says she's leaving ... (cbc.ca)
• Keffals prepares to leave Canada, temporarily (winnipeg.citynews.ca)
• After a Swatting Incident, Trans Streamer Keffals Is Leaving ... (them.us)
• Doxxed Twitch streamer, trans activist files human rights ... (globalnews.ca)

Checked by the Nosy Mag desk. Last updated 2026-10-26.