More than 438,000 tune in for Ocasio-Cortez Among Us stream

This week, New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined a handful of prominent livestreamers to play Among Us in an effort to encourage young Americans to vote in next month’s presidential election. According to analysts, the stream was massively popular with roughly 438,000 concurrent viewers, making it the fourth-most watched individual stream of all time on Twitch. 

For Doron Nir, CEO of streaming tools provider StreamElements, this success speaks to the popularity of the congressperson and her knowledge of how today’s youth gets its information.

“Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez understands that younger voters are consuming most of their content online and not on TV or at town halls where a lot of political energy is traditionally focused,” Nir told GameDaily. “By using the livestreaming medium and aligning herself with a lot of the most influential content creators in the gaming community, she is not only helping to get the vote out for her party but potentially setting the stage for her own presidential run down the road when this becomes the dominant voting class.”

Ocasio-Cortez’s stream was a combination of Among Us gameplay and sincere diseccion of American politics. Between discussions about their in-game tasks and who was or wasn’t the imposter in a given round, she asked her streaming partners about their views on health care and economic policy.

While gaming remains the primary form of entertainment on Twitch, a number of non-gaming channels have grown in popularity in recent years. Namely, Just Chatting has become one of the most popular segments on the platform, which highlights its potential as an influential entity.

“Livestreaming is more than a place for gaming content,” Nir said, “it is where conversations are happening, even during when games are being played. Those who frequent these platforms understand they are social networks, and it is on other social networks, like Twitter and Facebook, where most of the political battles are currently being fought. As others start to realize that the gaming scene is the next major voting block, we expect to see more candidates looking for ways to leverage platforms like Twitch and YouTube in the same way AOC has, while taking things to the next level in terms of how they tap into engagement tools like alerts and chat bots to grow their base.”

Nir’s impression of Ocasio-Cortez’s stream was largely positive, and he said that voting is something that American’s ought to not take for granted.

“It has always been important for people of age to vote since it is a freedom not every country has,” he said. “If it takes playing Among Us with these voters to keep the elections top of mind, that is a good thing as long as they also take the time to understand what they are voting on.”

Historically, young Americans don’t turn out for elections the way older demographics do. By taking to Twitch, Ocasio-Cortez is aiming to bring the issues to them in their own arena, an in-touch move that seeks to tap into the up-and-coming, left-leaning voter base. This is not a sus move, but a savvy one, and it will be interesting to see if it has any noticeable impact on next month’s election.