Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Twitch stream should be the blueprint for voter outreach

Using digital culture to engage with voters tends to have mixed results, but Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is leading the way for a new generation of politicians to interact with their constituents.

In an effort to encourage Americans to vote, Ocasio-Cortez teamed up with fellow U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar, Twitch streamer Pokimane, and political vlogger HasanAbi to stream a few rounds of Among Us, a Mafia-like game in which players must figure out who the "imposter" in the group is before they're killed.

The stream was a success, and at the peak, had a staggering 435,000 viewers, Twitch confirmed to Mashable. She created a Twitch channel on Monday afternoon, and by the end of her first stream on Tuesday evening, already amassed 496,000 followers. Other popular internet personalities joined the game over the three and a half hours Ocasio-Cortez was live, including Valkyrae, DrLupo, Corpse Husband, Mxmtoon, DisguisedToast, and Omar's daughter Isra Hirsi.

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Ocasio-Cortez's streaming debut even inspired an Among Us fancam, a short video that originates from fan-shot footage of stars dancing on stage. The clips are then edited together and set to often unrelated music, and are notorious for being weaponized by stan Twitter to derail conversations. Fancams are the height of fan devotion, whether ironic or genuine — fancam subjects include countess K-pop idols, Kim Jong-un's sister, and an exceptionally tall Black Lives Matter protestor dressed in riot gear.

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Despite social media's growing influence on American culture, politicians have struggled to incorporate it into their campaigns. From Hillary Clinton's ill-fated "Pokémon-Go-To-The-Polls" catchphrase in 2016 to Mike Bloomberg paying viral Instagram accounts to post memes supporting him, presidential races are plagued with well-intentioned but clueless attempts at connecting with the youth. Even Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's campaign had limited viewership when it premiered a Biden-themed Animal Crossing island. The Twitch channel KindaFunny Games, which unveiled the custom island in an exclusive stream last week, had just over 35,000 viewers. (Biden was not present for the stream, but Animal Crossing players do have a chance of running into his character if they visit the island.)

It's easy to dismiss engaging with online culture as pandering to young voters. In a world where social interactions are increasingly online, though, politicians and their campaign organizers must adapt to digital voter outreach methods. Galvanizing young people into voting has been a generations-long feat through American history, but a growing bloc of voters, not just in the enigmatic 18-29 demographic, are more likely to watch a Twitch stream than tune into a town hall on network television.

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Ocasio-Cortez is part of a generation of elected officials using social media to not only promote policies and voice their opinions, but also make an effort to interact with their constituents. The representative is known for answering questions on Instagram Live, inviting her followers to visit her Animal Crossing island, and playing the competitive team strategy game League of Legends.

Though fawning over politicians via fancam is going a bit far, Ocasio-Cortez's appeal to young voters is clear because she makes the time to engage with their interests.

Ocasio-Cortez was not particularly good at Among Us — she spent the first round as the painfully obvious imposter and, frankly, sucked at it — but her willingness to spend three and a half hours playing an already trendy game made her effort genuine. Referencing the game in an offhand comment during a media appearance to encourage voter registration is hollow compared to actually taking the time to play it, feature those who are famous for playing it, and respond to comments in the stream's chat.

As Washington Post reporter Gene Park tweeted, Twitch is an engagement platform more than a broadcast one. Live streaming on platforms like Twitch or Instagram Live give users unique access to the creators they follow through the chat feature, which many political candidates aren't effectively using. Candidates are no stranger to Twitch; Bernie Sanders launched a Twitch channel for virtual rallies and the Democratic National Convention streamed online as well. Biden's island was a heartwarming perk in an otherwise bleak election cycle, but the fact that he didn't even bother to appear on stream was an oversight. It was a missed opportunity to directly interact with potential voters in an unprecedented presidential race where candidates can't host meet and greets.

That's not to say that politicians attempting to use youth lingo is any less painful. I felt myself viscerally cringe when Omar tweeted "Poggers," a phrase gamers use to express excitement in stream chats, after she demolished other players in Among Us.

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Still, Omar was so earnest that the tweet was endearing. Politicians don't necessarily need to start streaming, but to effectively reach out to voters and constituents, they should take a page out of Omar and Ocasio-Cortez's playbook. Instead of just referencing online culture, it's time to engage with it.