With Twitch becoming increasingly popular, politicians have started using the platform to spread their messages. In the past, Bernie Sanders started his own Twitch channel, and he was soon followed by Donald Trump. However, politicians on Twitch haven't really used it for streaming gameplay; most of the time, the Twitch streams have been to show rallies or have Q&A sessions with the chat. US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez changed things up, streaming games of Among Us with famous Twitch streamers and gaming personalities, and achieving significant success as a result.
The AOC Twitch stream has over 4 million views at the time of this writing, and had well over 400,000 concurrent viewers at its peak. This makes the AOC Twitch stream one of the most successful broadcasts in the platform's history. And while the stream was mainly intended to encourage people to vote, it also had significant entertainment value, and was generally well-received by the community, regardless of where one falls on the political spectrum.
AOC is a genuine gamer, and that likely played a large role in the stream's success, as did the participation by top streamers like Pokimane. The stream was full of interesting and entertaining moments, with these five in particular standing out from the rest.
AOC Kills Pokimane
When playing as the Imposter in Among Us, the goal is to kill all of the crewmates without being ejected from the spacecraft. Oftentimes, this also requires players to lie about their whereabouts or actions so that they don't arouse suspicion. And of course, it means players have to sneakily kill off their friends. AOC's Twitch stream had no shortage of crewmates being killed, but one kill in particular stood out from the pack.
In one instance, AOC was named the Imposter of the game, and she found herself alone in a room with popular Twitch streamer Pokimane. "I can't kill Poki. She's so nice. I can't do that," AOC said. Then mere seconds later, AOC said, "Okay, I think I have to do it" and then brutally stabbed Pokimane in the back.
Pokimane was shocked at being killed at first, but then declared that it was "an honor" to be offed by the US congresswoman.
AOC Meets Corpse and His Deep Voice
Corpse Husband, also known simply as "Corpse," joined the AOC Twitch stream in-progress. For the uninitiated, Corpse is a well-known YouTuber who narrates horror stories, and is notable for his especially deep voice. Corpse's deep voice seemed to catch AOC off-guard, causing her to laugh and say, "His voice is so deep!" Later, after the Among Us players reported a dead body, AOC said, "I can't get over this dude's voice. It's so low!" AOC wasn't the only Among Us player who took note of Corpse's especially deep voice, with Gus later saying, "Well, first of all, I feel like I'm listening to an Edgar Allen Poe poem on tape, so this is very, very enjoyable."
Double Imposter With Ilhan Omar
While the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Twitch stream mainly consisted of other Twitch streamers and gaming personalities, it also included an appearance by AOC's fellow Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. And even though Omar was new to Among Us, she proved herself to be more than capable at the game, earning particular praise for the round when she and AOC were both the Imposters.
Toast 'Marinates' AOC
In Among Us, "marinating" is when an Imposter follows around a crewmate and doesn't kill them, thereby earning their trust and allowing them to trick the other players. DisguisedToast used this strategy multiple times during the AOC Twitch stream, following AOC around and "marinating" her in more than one game. AOC became suspicious of Toast when she noticed that he wasn't completing any of his Among Us tasks, but then he tricked her by asking her to follow him as he did "tasks" (when really he was just standing near the task). "I would not marinate a congresswoman," Toast insisted when confronted about his suspicious behavior.
Eventually, it was revealed that Toast was indeed an Imposter. "I was being marinated!" DisguisedToast then continued to follow AOC around in the next game, leading to him being voted out. While it may have seemed like Toast was once again "marinating" AOC, it turned out he wasn't the Imposter the second time around.
Universal Healthcare
The AOC Twitch stream had a lot of funny Among Us moments, but the main purpose of the stream was to encourage people to vote. For the most part, the conversation stayed on the events happening in Among Us, but occasionally, political issues were brought up. One particular moment from the AOC Twitch stream that is getting a lot of attention is a conversation that she had with Hbomberguy, who is from the UK and has access to the National Health Service as a result.
During their conversation, AOC remarked that she couldn't imagine going to the doctor without a credit card or "cash payment." Hbomberguy explained how healthcare works in the UK, and added that after a doctor visit, "you go home and you Google how much it would have cost in America."
Regardless of where one falls on the universal healthcare debate, this moment in the stream has garnered significant attention, with a clip of it amassing well over 400,000 views after it was re-tweeted by AOC herself.
Among Us is out now for PC and mobile devices.