Ian Kochinski (born February 14, 1994), better known as Vaush ( ), is an American

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

YouTuber A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006. Influence Influent ...

and

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...

streamer known for debating and discussing politics online from a

libertarian socialist Libertarian socialism, also known by various other names, is a left-wing,Diemer, Ulli (1997)"What Is Libertarian Socialism?" The Anarchist Library. Retrieved 4 August 2019. anti-authoritarian, anti-statist and libertarianLong, Roderick T. (201 ...

perspective.

Early life

Ian Kochinski was born on February 14, 1994, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. He is of

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

descent. Kochinski studied sociology at

Humboldt State University California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt also known as Cal Poly Humboldt, Humboldt or Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California or California State Polytechnic Universi ...

, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2018.

Career

Kochinski is best known for his livestreamed debates with

alt-right The alt-right, an abbreviation of alternative right, is a far-right, white nationalist movement. A largely online phenomenon, the alt-right originated in the United States during the late 2000s before increasing in popularity during the mid-2 ...

figures such as Stefan Molyneux and

Sargon of Akkad Sargon of Akkad (; akk, ''Šarrugi''), also known as Sargon the Great, was the first ruler of the Akkadian Empire, known for his conquests of the Sumerian city-states in the 24th to 23rd centuries BC.The date of the reign of Sargon is highl ...

, which have millions of views. His first appearances online were in discussions with the political streamer

Destiny Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...

, and encouraged by Destiny's audience he later began a

channel of his own. 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 Radicalization (or radicalisation) is the process by which an individual or a group comes to adopt increasingly views in opposition to a political, social, or religious status quo. The ideas of society at large shape the outcomes of radicalizat ...

and he opted to instead create loud, angry content that he thought would be more likely to appeal to them. 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 ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

and

trans Trans- is a Latin prefix meaning "across", "beyond", or "on the other side of". Used alone, trans may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Trans (festival), a former festival in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom * ''Trans'' (film ...

people in his audience. Kochinski mimicks the style of right-wing

s and utilizes similar video titles so that his videos are suggested by

recommendation algorithm A recommender system, or a recommendation system (sometimes replacing 'system' with a synonym such as platform or engine), is a subclass of information filtering system that provide suggestions for items that are most pertinent to a particular u ...

s to those at risk of radicalization, a common strategy employed by the left-wing

BreadTube BreadTube or LeftTube is a loose and informal group of online content creators who create video content, including video essays and livestreams, from socialist, social democratic, communist, anarchist, and other left-wing perspectives. BreadTube ...

community on YouTube. He also uses

memes A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural i ...

and

internet slang Internet slang (also called Internet shorthand, cyber-slang, netspeak, digispeak or chatspeak) is a non-standard or unofficial form of language used by people on the Internet to communicate to one another. An example of Internet slang is "LOL" m ...

in his videos to appeal to the audience of primarily young people online. His content features himself discussing news events and contentious issues, and debating other political streamers from the left and right, often in a confrontational style aimed at making his opponent appear unintelligent and often utilizing the research skills and knowledge he gained from his sociology education to back up his arguments. However, when engaging with

conspiracy theorists A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

, Kochinski generally does not spend much time on research or debunking debated topics, as he believes that taking a more amiable approach is better at influencing people away from such hardened views. His channel also features discussions and debates with offline figures, including journalists, radio hosts, and political candidates. In 2019, he was banned from Twitch for saying that the US should invade Israel in defense of Palestinians, an incident which he later described as himself "going too far criticising Israeli imperialism". As a result, he transitioned to YouTube as his main platform, after having created his YouTube channel that January. In June 2019, Kochinski debated conservative YouTuber Hunter Avallone. Avallone later said "I got wrecked in

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

debate" and subsequent to the debate his views took a leftward turn resulting in a video titled "Why I Left The Right". In December 2021, Kochinski was again banned from Twitch indefinitely for using the racial

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

cracker Cracker, crackers or The Crackers may refer to: Animals * ''Hamadryas'' (butterfly), or crackers, a genus of brush-footed butterflies * '' Sparodon'', a monotypic genus whose species is sometimes known as "Cracker" Arts and entertainment Films ...

" on stream. He used the term while discussing whether it could be considered a racial slur and if saying it should be a bannable offense following the ban of fellow Twitch streamer

Hasan Piker Hasan Doğan Piker ( , ; born July 25, 1991), also known as HasanAbi ( abi meaning ''big brother'' in Turkish), is a Turkish-American Twitch streamer and left-wing political commentator. He has previously worked as a broadcast journalist and pr ...

for saying the word on stream. In response to the ban, Kochinski told ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' that social media platforms are "terrible at acknowledging context and power relations when it comes to harassment."

Reception

Online, Kochinski is seen as a controversial figure. 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 In the English language, the word ''nigger'' is an ethnic slur used against black people, especially African Americans. Starting in the late 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been progressively replaced by the euphemism , notably in cases ...

" and argued that the word is acceptable in certain contexts. 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 by" his arguments justifying the use of the n-word. Later in 2021, his arguments that

kink Kink or KINK may refer to: Common uses * Kink (sexuality), a colloquial term for non-normative sexual behavior * Kink, a curvature, bend, or twist Geography * Kink, Iran, a village in Iran * The Kink, a man-made geographic feature in remote east ...

should be excluded from some

pride events A pride parade (also known as pride march, pride event, or pride festival) is an outdoor event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, legal rights, and pride. The events som ...

for not being

family-friendly A family-friendly product or service is one that is considered to be suitable for all members of an average family. Family-friendly restaurants are ones that provide service to families that have young children. Frequently, family-friendly produc ...

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 Daniel Abrams (born May 20, 1966) is an American media entrepreneur, television host, legal commentator, and author. He is currently the host of the prime-time show ''Dan Abrams Live'' on NewsNation, ''On Patrol: Live'' on Reelz and ''The Dan Abr ...

'', and ''The Bulwark''. Also in 2021, Kochinski received praise from ''

Kotaku ''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier. History ...

'' for a charity livestream in which he raised over $200,000 for the

Palestine Children's Relief Fund The Palestine Children's Relief Fund (PCRF) is a registered 501(c)(3) non-governmental organization established in 1991, by, according to its website, "concerned people in the U.S. to address the medical and humanitarian crisis facing Palestinian y ...

and from ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...

'' for challenging

Tim Pool Timothy Daniel Pool (born March 9, 1986) is an American YouTuber, political commentator and podcast host who first became known for live streaming the 2011 Occupy Wall Street protests. He joined Vice Media and Fusion TV in 2014, later workin ...

on the meaning of

critical race theory Critical race theory (CRT) is a cross-disciplinary examination, by social and civil-rights scholars and activists, of how laws, social and political movements, and media shape, and are shaped by, social conceptions of race and ethnicity. Goa ...

while appearing on his podcast ''Timcast IRL''. He was also positively cited by Communication & Media Studies Professor Tanner Mirrlees as an example of a leftist livestreamer who "demolishes lt-right YouTubers'bad arguments, even humiliating them in front of like 70,000 viewers in real time" and by sociologist Anthony Knowles for successfully communicating sociological ideas to a large audience outside of the reach of academic sociologists. A debate between Kochinski and

Charlie Kirk Charles J. Kirk (born 1993) is an American conservative activist and radio talk show host. He founded Turning Point USA with Bill Montgomery in 2012, and has served as its executive director since. He is the CEO of Turning Point Action, Stude ...

hosted by Tim Pool on August 4, 2021, received a divisive reception on the

internet forum An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are often longer than one line of text, and are at least temporar ...

4chan 4chan is an anonymous English-language imageboard website. Launched by Christopher "moot" Poole in October 2003, the site hosts boards dedicated to a wide variety of topics, from anime and manga to video games, cooking, weapons, television, ...

and led to some members of the website's community perceiving Kirk as having had a poor performance in the debate. This resulted in suggestions that Kochinski should debate

Nick Fuentes Nicholas Joseph Fuentes (born August 18, 1998) is an American white supremacistMultiple sources: * * * * * political commentator and Online streamer, live streamer. A former YouTuber, his channel was permanently suspended in February 20 ...

, a

white nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...

who has previously criticized Kirk for being inadequately conservative.

Political views

Kochinski is a self-described

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

, and

. He has also described himself as a " dirtbag leftist" and "a big fan of

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...

". In the

2020 United States presidential election The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala Ha ...

, he opposed the " Bernie or Bust" movement and urged people to vote for Joe Biden, calling a refusal to vote "stupid" and motivated by " nincredibly narcissistic '

doomer Doomer and, by extension, doomerism are terms which arose primarily on the Internet to describe people who are extremely pessimistic or fatalist about global problems such as overpopulation, peak oil, climate change, and pollution. Some doomers ...

ism' that prevents people from engaging in meaningful action". Kochinski opposes the

United States embargo against Cuba The United States embargo against Cuba prevents American businesses, and businesses organized under U.S. law or majority-owned by American citizens, from conducting trade with Cuban interests. It is the most enduring trade embargo in modern hist ...

and supported the

withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan The United States has conducted two withdrawals of United States troops from Afghanistan: *Withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan (2011–2016), draw down of United States Armed Forces in the Afghanistan war *Withdrawal of United State ...

. He also opposed

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

's withdrawal of United States troops from

Rojava The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), also known as Rojava, is a de facto autonomous region in northeastern Syria. It consists of self-governing Regions of North and East Syria, sub-regions in the areas of Afrin Region ...

. * Support of online advocacy and BreadTube
0:54–4:23
* Opposition to the US embargo of Cuba
20:28–21:28
* Support of US withdrawal from Afghanistan
31:40–33:50
* Opposition to US withdrawal from Rojava
36:33–37:4542:29–43:05
While 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". In 2022, Kochinski posted multiple videos and broadcast multiple

livestreams Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but no ...

condemning the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

. Kochinski has criticized the online right for creating a "

pipeline Pipeline may refer to: Electronics, computers and computing * Pipeline (computing), a chain of data-processing stages or a CPU optimization found on ** Instruction pipelining, a technique for implementing instruction-level parallelism within a s ...

" that pushes people to radical

hard-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

views such as

ethnic nationalism Ethnic nationalism, also known as ethnonationalism, is a form of nationalism wherein the nation and nationality are defined in terms of ethnicity, with emphasis on an ethnocentric (and in some cases an ethnocratic) approach to various politi ...

and disenfranchising 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". Nonetheless, 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 number of people online moving to the political right. Following the arrest of

manosphere The manosphere is a collection of websites, blogs, and online forums promoting masculinity, misogyny, and opposition to feminism. Communities within the manosphere include men's rights activists, incels (involuntary celibates), Men Going Their Ow ...

influencer

Andrew Tate Emory Andrew Tate III (born December 1, 1986) is an American-British social media personality, businessman and a former professional kickboxer. Following his kickboxing career, he began offering paid courses and memberships through his websit ...

, Vaush argued that Tate's rise to popularity was due to the left failing to address the problems of young men and boys, saying they were being "pulled into fascism" because "the right talks to them and the left doesn't". In May 2021, he opposed Twitch's use of the term "

womxn The term ''womxn'' is an alternative spelling of the English word ''woman''. ''Womxn'' has been found in writing since the 1970s, along with the term womyn, to avoid perceived sexism in the standard spelling, which contains the word ''man''. The ...

", saying "There is already an inclusive term for

trans women A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and so ...

and cis women, and it's women... The only reason you

ould not Ould is an English surname and an Arabic name ( ar, ولد). In some Arabic dialects, particularly Hassaniya Arabic, ولد‎ (the patronymic, meaning "son of") is transliterated as Ould. Most Mauritanians have patronymic surnames. Notable pe ...

believe that is if you don't believe trans women are women." He has criticized Twitter for banning trans people for using the term

TERF TERF () is an acronym for trans-exclusionary radical feminist. First recorded in 2008, the term was originally used to distinguish trans-inclusive feminists from a group of radical feminists who reject the assertion that trans women are wome ...

, which he argues is "categorically not a slur".

Personal life

Kochinski identifies as

pansexual , meaning "all" , definition = Sexual or romantic attraction to people regardless of gender , classification = Sexual identity , parent = Bisexuality , synonyms = , associated_terms = Polysexual, queer, heterofl ...

, and has

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inap ...

. He is also on the

autism spectrum The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

References

External links

* * {{Twitter, id=VaushV 1994 births Living people 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people Activists from Los Angeles American YouTubers American anti-fascists American people of Irish descent American people of Polish descent American socialists California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt alumni California socialists Entertainers from Los Angeles LGBT YouTubers American LGBT rights activists Libertarian socialists Pansexual entertainers Progressivism in the United States Transgender rights activists Twitch (service) streamers Washington (state) socialists YouTube controversies