Not Just Fun and Games: Politics Edges Deeper Into Livestreams

During last month’s presidential debate, Hasan Piker appeared in the corner of the screen on his Twitch channel.With the debate playing live behind him, he interjected sporadically.“Boo, you suck,” he hollered when Vice President Kamala Harris answered a question about the war in Gaza.

When former President Donald J.Trump began discussing the pets of Springfield, Ohio, Mr.

Piker unleashed two high-pitched screams.The viewer chat log, running alongside his stream, lit up with all-caps shock and awe when Mr.Trump said, “They’re eating the cats.”“I just got up and started yelling — that was a real honest reaction,” Mr.

Piker, 33, said in an interview.“That sort of thing, I think, ends up being entertaining for people that are watching.”On Tuesday, when the vice-presidential candidates, Gov.

Tim Walz of Minnesota and Senator JD Vance of Ohio, face each other in a debate, Mr.Piker will be back online.

He will spend hours before and after the event talking about the election on Twitch.So will many streamers on other platforms, including YouTube, Rumble and Kick.Those sites have become an increasingly popular place for people to discuss current events, with some streamers turning into de facto pundits, offering their takes on the news for hours on end every day.

Major political debates have become a big event for many of them and their audience.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe....