Breaking: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar Are Big Fuckin' Nerds, Attract Over 400,000 to Twitch Stream

By Ashley Reese  |  October 21, 2020 | 3:20pm
Politics
Breaking: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar Are Big Fuckin' Nerds, Attract Over 400,000 to Twitch Stream
Image: Alex Wroblewski / Stringer (Getty Images)

Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar have a few things in common: They’re progressives, they’re reviled by the right, they know fracking is an environmental nightmare, and they’re massive nerds. If Omar tweeting about Gundam wasn’t enough of a tell, then the two representatives hopping on the streaming platform Twitch Tuesday night to play Among Us drove the message home.

The wildly popular game, which resident Jezebel gamer Joan Summers once described as, “basically Mob: The Game… you’re locked in a space station and people murder each other, you gotta find the ‘imposter’ before everyone dies,” is a Twitch mega-hit. But you didn’t have to be a gamer to tune in and enjoy watching Ocasio-Cortez and Omar duke it out alongside streamers Hasanabi and Pokimane. Ocasio-Cortez’s stream attracted over 430,000 viewers, making it the third-highest viewed stream in Twitch history.

From our friends at Kotaku:

AOC began her stream by saying she was “super nervous,” but quickly found her rhythm, laughing and joking with everybody else. After Omar had some technical issues, the group began playing Among Us.
“I really don’t want to be impostor. Please don’t let me be impostor,” AOC said.
The game immediately made her one of the impostors, at which point AOC said “Noooooooooo.” She did well, however, even if it pained her.
“I can’t kill Poki,” she said as she crept up behind Pokimane. “She’s so nice.” Upon killing Pokimane, AOC gasped loudly at the horror she had wrought.

The stream wasn’t devoid of politics, however, and not just from the right-wing trolls leaving comments. Omar emphasized the importance of having a voting plan for the upcoming general election, and Ocasio-Cortez discussed the United States’ dysfunctional healthcare system.

Ocasio-Cortez’s ability to seamlessly inject policy into a gaming session highlighted her adeptness at making politics both more accessible and urgent, which she has also done effectively via Instagram Live.

Still, while this was a clever get out the vote effort, it was also an opportunity to flex. Enter Omar’s computer setup, which my boyfriend helpfully noted was a “sweet rig.” I can believe it!

“Taking recommendations for my next stream…” Omar tweeted when the game ended. I don’t know, Untitled Goose Game?

 
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