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Vaush
Kochinski in 2022
Personal information
Born
Ian Kochinski

(1994-02-14) February 14, 1994 (age 30)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
EducationHumboldt State University (BA)
YouTube information
Channels
Subscribers
  • 397 thousand (Vaush)
  • 97.4 thousand (The Vaush Pit)
Total views
  • 186 million (Vaush)
  • 22.7 million (The Vaush Pit)
Associated acts
Websitevaush.gg
100,000 subscribers
Vaush's voice
On libertarianism's relationship with socialism
Last updated: March 26, 2022

Ian Kochinski (born February 14, 1994), better known as Vaush (/vɔːʃ/), is an American YouTuber and former Twitch streamer known for debating and discussing politics online from a libertarian socialist perspective. Kochinski opposes the online right, and has attempted to deradicalize young white men from the alt-right by utilizing techniques widespread in the left-wing BreadTube community whilst trying to maintain an inclusive community.

Early life

Ian Kochinski was born on February 14, 1994 in Los Angeles. He is of Irish and Polish descent.[1] Kochinski studied sociology at Humboldt State University,[2] graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree.[3][4]

Career

Kochinski is most well known for his livestreamed debates with alt-right figures such as Stefan Molyneux and Sargon of Akkad, which have millions of views.[5][6] His first appearances online were under the username "Irishladdie", in discussions with the political streamer Destiny, which he was a follower of; encouraged by some members of Destiny's audience, he later began a Twitch channel of his own.[5] Kochinski felt that other members of the online left at the time were too academic to reach the demographic of insecure white men that he thought was most susceptible to online radicalization and he opted to instead create loud, angry content that he thought would be more likely to appeal to them.[5] While appealing to what he calls "masculine tendencies", Kochinski has aimed to create an inclusive community and has comparatively high proportions of women, and gay and trans people in his audience.[5]

Kochinski mimicks the style of right-wing YouTubers and utilizes similar video titles so that his videos are suggested by recommendation algorithms to those at risk of radicalization,[7] a common strategy employed by the left-wing BreadTube community on YouTube.[8][9] He also uses memes and internet slang in his videos to appeal to the audience of primarily young people online.[5] His content features himself discussing news events and contentious issues, and debating other political streamers from the left and right,[5][6] often in a confrontational style aimed at making his opponent appear unintelligent[5] and often utilising the research skills and knowledge he gained from his sociology education to back up his arguments.[4] His channel also features discussions and debates with offline figures, including journalists, radio hosts, and political candidates.[4]

In 2019, he was banned from Twitch for saying that "America should stop sending bombs to Israel, and should drop bombs on Israel instead",[10] an incident which he later described as himself "going too far criticising Israeli imperialism".[5] As a result, he transitioned to YouTube as his main platform,[5] after having created his YouTube channel that January.[4] In December 2021, Kochinski was again banned from Twitch indefinitely for using the racial epithet "cracker" on stream whilst discussing whether or not the term is a racial slur and whether saying it should be a bannable offense following the ban of fellow Twitch streamer Hasan Piker for use of the term.[11][12][13][14] In response to the ban, Kochinski told The Washington Post that "Social media platforms are terrible at acknowledging context and power relations when it comes to harassment. This is why so many trans people on Twitter get banned for calling their harassers TERFs [trans-exclusionary radical feminist], which is categorically not a slur. Hasan's flagrant use of the word forced them to commit to a position. They committed harder than I expected, considering my ban."[15]

Reception

Kochinski is a controversial figure online.[16] In 2021, controversy on Twitter surrounding Vaush was prompted by the reemergence of videos in which he justified his past uses of the "N-word" and argued that the word is acceptable in certain contexts.[17] Responding to the controversy on his livestream, Kochinski said that earlier statements that he had made had been a failed attempt at being "overly edgy" and that he "no longer stand[s] by" his arguments justifying the use of the n-word.[18]

Later in 2021, his arguments that kink should be excluded from some pride events for not being family-friendly and for making pride inaccessible to young questioning queer people were met with divided opinions on social media and criticism from writers for Vox, The Mary Sue, and The Bulwark.[16][19][20][21] Also in 2021, Kochinski received praise from Kotaku for a charity livestream in which he raised over $200,000 for the Palestine Children's Relief Fund[22] and from The Daily Beast for challenging Tim Pool on the meaning of critical race theory whilst appearing on his podcast Timcast IRL.[23] He was also positively cited by political economist Tanner Mirrlees as an example of a leftist livestreamer who "demolishes [alt-right YouTubers'] bad arguments, even humiliating them in front of like 70,000 viewers in real time"[24] and by sociologist Anthony Knowles for successfully communicating sociological ideas to a large audience outside of the reach of academic sociologists.[4]

A debate between Kochinski and Charlie Kirk hosted by Tim Pool on August 4, 2021 sparked controversy on the internet forum 4chan due to members of the website's community perceiving Kirk as having had a poor performance in the debate. This led to suggestions that Kochinski should debate Nick Fuentes, a white nationalist who has previously criticized Kirk for being inadequately conservative.[1]

Sexual harassment allegations

In March 2019, chat logs were publicized in which Ian Kochinski was sexually harassing members of Destiny's community, such as sending sexually explicit pictures to people after they asked him not to and making sexually inappropriate jokes towards users who had blocked him.[25] Before the chat logs were publicized and discussed by Destiny, Ian Kochinski considered confronting one of the victims to "shut her up".[26]

Political views

Kochinski is a progressive,[7] an anti-fascist,[1][27] and a libertarian socialist.[5][17][27] He has also described himself as a "dirtbag leftist" and "a big fan of democracy".[1][6] In the 2020 United States presidential election, he opposed the "Bernie or Bust" movement and urged people to vote for Joe Biden,[5][10] calling a refusal to vote "stupid" and motivated by "[an] incredibly narcissistic 'doomerism' that prevents people from engaging in meaningful action".[5] Kochinski opposes the United States embargo against Cuba and is in support of the withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan. He also opposed Donald Trump's withdrawal of United States troops from Rojava.[28] Whilst believing that tech companies have too much power, Kochinski also felt that Donald Trump being banned from various social media websites was an "unequivocally good thing".[5] In 2022, Kochinski posted multiple videos and broadcast multiple livestreams condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[27][29]

Kochinski has criticized the online right for creating a "pipeline" that pushes people to radical hard-right views such as ethnic nationalism and de-suffragising women, and for engaging in "absolute abject cruelty to trans people". He has also criticized the online left for "purity politics" and for engaging in actions that create "great content but terrible political advocacy".[5] He believes that the left should engage in online advocacy because the internet allows for their message to reach a wider audience than any other medium and has argued that BreadTube has decreased the amount of people online moving to the right-wing.[28] In May 2021, he opposed Twitch's use of the term "womxn" saying "There is already an inclusive term for trans women and cis women, and it's women [...] The use of the term womxn implicitly suggests that the term women wasn't already including everybody. The only reason you would ever believe that is if you don't believe trans women are women."[30] On March 8, 2022, which was also International Women's Day, he clashed online with author J.K. Rowling regarding trans women's rights.[31]

Kochinski has argued extensively against fascism. He claims to use Umberto Eco's definition of fascism[32] and has described George W. Bush and Antonin Scalia as fascists.[33]

Personal life

Kochinski grew up in Beverly Hills. He identifies as pansexual.[16][34]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Cooke, Bruno (August 4, 2021). "Vaush and Charlie Kirk's Timcast debate proves divisive on Twitter and 4chan". The Focus. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  2. ^ Casarez, Iridian (April 5, 2017). "Criminal Justice Dialogue". The Lumberjack. Archived from the original on February 4, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  3. ^ "Ian Kochinski". College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences - HSU Commencement 2018. Humboldt State University. May 12, 2018. Event occurs at 1:59:51. Retrieved March 15, 2022 – via YouTube.
  4. ^ a b c d e Knowles, Anthony (2021). "Sociology as Social System: Luhmann, Enlightenment, and the Gap between "Facts" and "Norms"". In Dahms, Harry F. (ed.). Society in Flux: Two Centuries of Social Theory. Current Perspectives in Social Theory. Vol. 37. Emerald Publishing. pp. 159–192. doi:10.1108/S0278-120420210000037006. ISBN 978-1-80262-242-3. S2CID 244151644.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Ellingham, Miles (January 17, 2021). "The road to BreadTube: The battle for the soul of the internet". The Independent. Archived from the original on February 21, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c Mirrlees, Tanner (2020). "Socialists on Social Media Platforms: Communicating within and Against Digital Capitalism". In Panitch, Leo; Albo, Greg (eds.). Beyond Digital Capitalism: New Ways of Living. Socialist Register 2021. NYU Press. pp. 112–136. ISBN 978-1-58367-883-1.
  7. ^ a b Mohapatra, Anupras (March 4, 2021). "Diving into the rabbit hole". The Daily Cardinal. Archived from the original on October 5, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  8. ^ Roose, Kevin (June 8, 2019). "The Making of a YouTube Radical". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 23, 2022. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  9. ^ Lee, Alexander Mitchell (March 8, 2021). "Meet BreadTube, the YouTube activists trying to beat the far-right at their own game". The Conversation. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  10. ^ a b Kochinski, Ian (June 13, 2020). "(Almost) Everything I've Ever Been CANCELLED For". Archived from the original on March 13, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2022 – via YouTube.
    • Vaush's origins: 1:30.
    • Poppy controversy: 2:14.
    • First twitch ban: 4:27.
    • Thoughtslime stream: 5:48.
    • Killstream controversy: 10:22.
    • Child exploitation argument: 12:25.
    • Black Nationalism argument: 18:52.
    • Anti Bernie or Bust: 21:36.
  11. ^ Gach, Ethan (December 14, 2021). "Socialist Twitch Streamer Banned For Calling White People 'Cracker'". Kotaku. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  12. ^ Fox, Kevin (December 14, 2021). "Videogames and Politics Streamer Hasan Piker Banned From Twitch for Saying "Cracker"". Paste. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  13. ^ Shotwell, Alyssa (December 15, 2021). "Twitch Bans Hasan Piker, Vaush kicking off #CrackerGate". The Mary Sue. Archived from the original on March 5, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  14. ^ Jackson, Gita; Gault, Matthew (December 14, 2021). "Hasan Piker Banned From Twitch for Saying 'Cracker'". Vice. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  15. ^ Grayson, Nathan (December 16, 2021). "Twitch suspension of Hasan Piker sparks debate over what qualifies as racist language". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 17, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  16. ^ a b c Brandabur, Michelle (May 26, 2021). "'Sorry, but f*ck' em': Vaush's controversial 'Kink at Pride' take gets ratioed across Queer Twitter". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  17. ^ a b Thalen, Mikael (March 4, 2021). "Popular leftist streamer defends right to say N-word in resurfaced video". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on March 14, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  18. ^ Kochinski, Ian (March 5, 2021). "Addressing The Tactical Controversy". 3:10 and 3:56. Retrieved February 9, 2022 – via YouTube.
  19. ^ Abad-Santos, Alex (June 2, 2021). "Can Pride even be radical or kinky if it's sponsored by Target and JPMorgan?". Vox. Archived from the original on February 20, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  20. ^ Weekes, Princess (May 26, 2021). "Pride Is Not a Gay Zoo. It's a Giant-Ass Celebration of a Protest". The Mary Sue. Archived from the original on July 22, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  21. ^ Miller, Tim (June 3, 2021). "Not My Party: No Cops or Kink at Pride?". The Bulwark. Archived from the original on March 14, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  22. ^ Grayson, Nathan (May 18, 2021). "As Gaza Burns, Twitch Charity Streams For Palestine Remain Few And Far Between". Kotaku. Archived from the original on February 15, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  23. ^ Silverman, Robert (August 1, 2021). "How 'Coward and Phony' Tim Pool Became One of the Biggest Political YouTubers on the Planet". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  24. ^ Platforms, power, populism panel (Video recording). Communication & Cultural Policy in the Age of the Platform. McMaster University: the Communication Governance Observatory and the Centre for Networked Media and Performance. May 5, 2021. 44:03–44:48. Archived from the original on November 19, 2021. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  25. ^ Bonnell, Steven (March 27, 2019). "Destiny Confronts Vaush on Claims of Sexual Harassment". Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022 – via Youtube.
  26. ^ Maupin, Caleb (June 20, 2021). BreadTube Serves Imperialism: Examining The New Brand of Internet Psuedo-Socialism. p. 18. ISBN 9798524111708.
  27. ^ a b c "Fact Check-CNN did not tweet a story about 'the Kharkiv kid finder'". Reuters. March 8, 2022. Archived from the original on March 13, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  28. ^ a b Jones, Owen (July 16, 2021). "Vaush meets Owen Jones: US imperialism and the left". Archived from the original on September 5, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021 – via YouTube.
  29. ^ Kochi, Sudiksha (March 11, 2022). "Fact check: Fabricated CNN tweet about 'Kharkiv Kid Finder' spreads online". USA Today. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  30. ^ López, Oscar (May 26, 2021). "Is the move to add "X" to show gender neutrality working? Or does it miss the mark?". AL DÍA News. Archived from the original on July 22, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  31. ^ Keeley, Matt (March 9, 2022). "J.K. Rowling and YouTuber Vaush spar over international women's day tweet". Newsweek. Archived from the original on March 14, 2022.
  32. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b3kKWBlGt4
  33. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq5IBpYTgTs
  34. ^ Erickson, Steve (June 18, 2021). "Dominating and Humiliating Pride Into Respectability". Gay City News. Archived from the original on February 12, 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
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