N.Y. House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Among Us stream on Twitch has become one of the platform’s most-viewed streams ever.
The hit game, Among Us, is certainly bringing people of all backgrounds together. There are only a handful of politicians who would venture into the world of gaming to reach out to younger audiences. Now, people can count New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez among those people.
Just recently, the 31-year-old Democrat made history after streaming herself playing Among Us on Twitch. Ocasio-Cortez, or simply AOC, had earlier reached out on Twitter asking if anyone wanted to play with her. And the answer, of course, is almost everyone did.
700k people tuned-in to watch Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez play
On October 20, she finally had an all-star cast to play with. Thousands of people were quick to follow her newly-made account on Twitch just to watch. When the stream finally kicked off, AOC had a star-studded lobby of gaming and Internet personalities such as Pokimane, DisguisedToast, Valkyrae, Corpse Husband, DrLupo, MoistCr1tikal, vlogger and political commentator Hasan Piker, Jacksepticeye, and her fellow U.S. house representative Ilhan Omar among others.
The stream was a massive success. AOC’s stream had picked up around 439,000 concurrent viewers. If one would add the figures from Pokimane, HasanAbi, Jacksepticeye, Moist, and DrLupo’s stream, the sum would be around 700,000 views. Not only that, but her account also reached over 500,000 followers on the platform.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoqNOWW35Yw
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Among Us Twitch stream one of the biggest
Ninja’s Fortnite stream with Drake still holds the title of most-viewed broadcast with around 600,000 views. But AOC’s 439,000 is certainly among the top. And what’s even more incredible is that not many new accounts can achieve that.
Her stream only lasted for around three hours but her viewers clearly enjoyed all that had happened within. Many clips had already begun circulating online from the stream from AOC becoming impostor on the first round to Pokimane worshiping the politician.
Watching AOC play among us is so wholesome 🥺🥺 pic.twitter.com/lQMupkrRxw
— finch (@earlgreygowon) October 21, 2020
Getting the vote out
AOC was clear about what her intentions were when she asked people to play Among Us with her. Before they started the game, Ocasio-Cortez even mentioned that they were there to encourage people to get the vote out and “to vote blue” (Democrats).
Many praised the politician for reaching out to younger audiences through platforms like gaming.
“The impressiveness of AOC is not simply that she is a forceful and articulate proponent of the Democratic message, it is that she is able to speak credibly directly to millennials using platforms like Twitch,” Mitchell Robertson, a fellow at the Rothermere American Institute tells BBC.
Congresswomen AOC and Ilhan Omar stream Among Us, thankfully manage to avoid being cringey https://t.co/bquIIbYMtz pic.twitter.com/R0F0hGXcK0
— The Root (@TheRoot) October 21, 2020
A case of electioneering?
If many admired the politician for her initiative, there are also those who weren’t as convinced. In fact, Ocasio-Cortez was even accused of electioneering, criticizing her for “transparent” political move.
Watching @AOC and @IlhanMN play Among Us on Twitch while talking politics and encouraging people to get out the vote is exactly what I need in this crazy time of this election.
— Kate🌈🏹|Even With the Devils of Time Against You (@adaxialabraxas) October 21, 2020
Many believe that the Democratic party is using Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to gain more popularity using popular trends like Among Us. Raising awareness using popular trends is no doubt a good political move, but the problem with it is that it mostly aligns young voters and followers to a politician and not the politics itself.
Featured image courtesy of AOC/Twitch Stream Screenshot