Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have joined thousands of teens these past weeks in playing famous internet gaming sensation Among Us.
U.S representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or better known as AOC and Ilhan Omar live-streamed their gameplay of Among us via Twitch this past October 20, 2020. The two congresswomen say their efforts to join the game was to connect with young audiences who are eligible to vote to encourage and remind them to get their voices in this time around. The Among us live stream lasted a whopping three hours and pulled in well over 400,000 viewers waiting to see how AOC’s pink avatar would perform, considering this was her first play ever! Many people were pleased; however, not all were thrilled with these two on said platform.
The U.S is under immense pressure as of now due to the upcoming elections. The race between former Vice President Joe Biden and current President Donald J. Trump for the 2020 elections has caused many eligible voters to head over to the polls and get their votes in. Democratic and Republican parties alike have encouraged the elderly and youth to make their voices known and heard this time around; however, congresswomen AOC and Ilhan Omar have taken a different approach in getting younger people in at the polls. AOC tweeted out for game players to tune in at 9 pm on the Twitch streaming service, where she would join Omar on a game of Among Us with the public to discuss elections, and most importantly, have fun with the video game. The goal was to have fun; nonetheless, individuals criticized the pair for participating in a seemingly political-free gaming service. Still, AOC and Omar played the game with pink and white avatars with a positive attitude, making humorous comments to their fellow players. The two played the roles of crewmates who had to complete their tasks, as well as imposters who ran around taking out their fellow crewmates.
“Today. I was killed by @AOC in among us within the first five minutes,” said Maia, @mxmtoon, a Twitch streamer.
The twitch streamer was left with laughs and feelings of disbelief.
Video game, Among us, has taken the internet by storm and has become a new platform for government officials to ‘appear normal’ and connect with younger voters. Maybe not officially, but this was the case for democratic officials Ocasio-Cortez and Omar. Many see Cortez and Omar’s gameplay as an innocent and fun way to interact with younger voices; however, some saw this as an unethical approach in radicalizing the youth’s political beliefs. Some folks have claimed that this is democratic propaganda and should not be encouraged by elected U.S officials because it is essentially ‘brainwashing.’
“AOC is currently streaming Among us on twitch to try to radicalize little kids, remember that,” said Vicente Byrne via Tiktok.
The opposing side says this is a new and ‘cool’ way of reaching out to a different demographic and is completely harmless. Nobody reported unusual behavior or hateful speech from the congresswomen for the duration of their play. People might have their opinions on whether congresswomen should participate in such games; however, one thing is for certain: this is an exciting moment in US history!
By Stephanie Velasquez, News Editor
(Photo Source: Vox.com)