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

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

YouTuber A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...

and former

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 c ...

streamer. Kochinski started his online career as a member of streamer

Destiny Destiny, sometimes also called 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 used interchangeably, the words ''fate'' and ''destiny'' ...

's community, before creating his Twitch channel and YouTube account in 2019. His content consists of commentary on various news and media topics, discussions of men's fashion, video games and urbanist policies. Debates and discussions with various political figures have been a large part of his channel. Noted for his confrontational style, use of

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 ...

, and mimicry from

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

YouTubers, he is regarded as part of the

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

community. Described as a progressive and

libertarian socialist Libertarian socialism is an anti-authoritarian and anti-capitalist political current that emphasises self-governance and workers' self-management. It is contrasted from other forms of socialism by its rejection of state ownership and from other ...

, Kochinski is considered a controversial figure online. He has received several bans on Twitch and criticism for various statements, and has also received praise for his sociological content, debates, and charity livestreams.

Personal life

Ian Anthony Kochinski was born on February 14, 1994, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, and grew up in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

. Kochinski studied sociology at

Humboldt State University California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt (Cal Poly Humboldt or Humboldt) is a public university in Arcata, California. It is one of Cal Poly (disambiguation), three polytechnic universities in the California State University (CSU) sys ...

, graduating with a BA in 2018. Kochinski identifies as

pansexual Pansexuality is sexual, romantic, or emotional attraction towards people of all genders, or regardless of their sex or gender identity. Pansexual people may refer to themselves as gender-blind, asserting that gender and sex are not determ ...

. He is

autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

and also has

ADHD Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple ...

Career

Kochinski has livestreamed debates with

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

figures such as

Stefan Molyneux Stefan Basil Molyneux (; born September 24, 1966) is an Irish-born Canadian white nationalist podcaster and proponent of conspiracy theories, white supremacist, white supremacy, scientific racism, and the men's rights movement. He is the found ...

and

Sargon of Akkad Sargon of Akkad (; ; died 2279 BC), 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 highly unc ...

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

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

channel of his own. He also created his YouTube account in January 2019. 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 radical views in opposition to a political, social, or religious status quo. The ideas of society at large shape the outcomes of rad ...

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 female,

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 ...

and

trans Trans- is a Latin prefix meaning "across", "beyond", or "on the other side of". Used alone, trans may refer to: Sociology * Trans, a sociological term which may refer to: ** Transgender, people who identify themselves with a gender that di ...

people in his audience. Kochinski mimics the style of right-wing YouTubers and utilizes similar video titles so that his videos are suggested by

recommendation algorithm A recommender system (RecSys), or a recommendation system (sometimes replacing ''system'' with terms such as ''platform'', ''engine'', or ''algorithm'') and sometimes only called "the algorithm" or "algorithm", is a subclass of information fi ...

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

community on YouTube. He also uses

and internet slang in his videos to appeal to the audience of primarily young people online. Listed as an example of a BreadTube channel, 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 asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...

, 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. By 2021, he amassed over 350,000 subscribers and 120 million views on his YouTube channel. 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 he "got wrecked in

hat A hat is a Headgear, 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 incorpor ...

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 a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

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, is a Turkish-American online streamer, YouTuber, influencer, and left-wing political commentator. His streams typically consist of political and social commentary, gaming, a ...

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

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' that social media platforms are "terrible at acknowledging context and power relations when it comes to harassment." Kochinski and fellow political streamer Destiny organized their communities to knock on more than 10,000 doors and make 50,000 phone calls in support of

Janet Protasiewicz Janet Claire Protasiewicz (; ; born December 3, 1962) is an American attorney and jurist from Wisconsin who has served as a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court since August 2023. Protasiewicz was elected to the court in the 2023 election, af ...

during the

2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court election The 2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court election was held on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, to elect a justice to the Wisconsin Supreme Court for a ten-year term. Milwaukee County circuit judge Janet Protasiewicz defeated former Wisconsin Supreme Court ...

. In a

Progressive Victory Progressive Victory is a progressive political action committee (PAC) in the United States. The organization states that it's "built by the internet, for the internet" and advocates for progressive issues and candidates across the nation. It was fo ...

livestream that September, Kochinski, along with Destiny, Emma Vigeland, and

Keffals Clara Sorrenti (born March 25, 1994), better known as Keffals, is a Canadian Twitch streamer, transgender activist, left-wing political commentator and former candidate of the Communist Party of Canada. She has since ended her affiliation wit ...

, interviewed

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

Ro Khanna Rohit Khanna (born September 13, 1976) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from California's 17th congressional district since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (Un ...

about various topics, including the importance of youth political participation and ways to push progressive political sentiment.

Political views

Noted as a left-wing streamer, Kochinski is a self-described progressive,

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 op ...

, and

. He has also described himself as a " dirtbag leftist". In the

2020 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 2020. The Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and California junior senator Kamala H ...

, he opposed the " Bernie or Bust" movement and urged people to vote for

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

, calling a refusal to vote "stupid" and motivated by " nincredibly narcissistic '

doomer Doomers are people who are extremely pessimistic or fatalistic about global problems such as overpopulation, peak oil, climate change, ecological overshoot, pollution, nuclear weapons, and runaway artificial intelligence. The term, and its asso ...

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

United States embargo against Cuba The United States embargo against Cuba is the only active embargo within the United States which has prevented U.S. businesses from conducting trade or commerce with Cuban interests since 1958. Modern Cuba–United States relations, diplomatic ...

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 * 2020–2021 U.S. troop w ...

. He also opposed

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's withdrawal of United States troops from

Rojava Rojava may refer to: * Syrian Kurdistan, also known as Rojava, the geographical region where Kurds historically settled within present-day Syria * Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria The Democratic Autonomous Administ ...

. * 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
36:33–37:45

42:29–43:05
. 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, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming of video or audio in real time or near real time. While often referred to simply as ''streaming'', the real-time nature of livestreaming differentiates it from other non- live ...

condemning the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. Kochinski has criticized the online right for creating a "

pipeline A pipeline is a system of Pipe (fluid conveyance), pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countries ...

" that pushes people to radical

hard-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and Nativism (politics), nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on ...

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 ethnostate/ethnocratic) approach to variou ...

, 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 varied collection of websites, blogs, and online forums promoting masculinity, misogyny, and opposition to feminism. Communities within the manosphere include men's rights activists (MRAs), incels (involuntary celibates), ...

influencer

Andrew Tate Emory Andrew Tate III (born 1 December 1986) is an American and English social media personality, businessman, and former professional kickboxer who is also a citizen of Vanuatu among another countries. He gained notoriety for promoting ...

, 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", saying "There is already an inclusive term for

trans women A trans woman or transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria (distress brought upon by the discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their ...

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

ould not Ould is an English surname as well as an element of many Arabic names. In Arabic contexts it is a transliteration of the word ولد, meaning "son". Notable people with this surname include: English surname * Edward Ould (1852–1909), English ...

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 Gender-critical feminism, also known as trans-exclusionary radical feminism or TERFism, is an ideology or movement that opposes what it refers to as "gender ideology". Gender-critical feminists believe that sex is biological, immutable, and ...

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

Reception

In 2021, controversy on Twitter surrounding Vaush was prompted by the reemergence of videos in which he justified his past uses of the word ''

nigger In the English language, ''nigger'' is a racial slur directed at black people. Starting in the 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been increasingly replaced by the euphemistic contraction , notably in cases where ''nigger'' is Use–menti ...

'' 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 word. Later in 2021, his arguments that

kink KINK (101.9 FM also known as kink.fm) is a commercial radio station in Portland, Oregon. It is owned by Alpha Media and it airs an adult album alternative radio format. KINK's studios and offices are on Southwest 5th Avenue in the PacWest C ...

should be excluded from some

pride events A pride parade (also known as pride event, pride festival, pride march, or pride protest) is an event celebrating lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, LGBT rights by country o ...

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, and author. He is currently the host of '' On Patrol: Live'' on Reelz, and ''The Dan Abrams Show: Where Politics Meets The Law'' on SiriusXM's P.O.T.U.S. cha ...

'', and ''The Bulwark'', though he later renounced his statements, saying " uring thekink at pride discourse, I said some stuff that I later came to regret. I think that there were some issues I was

reactionary In politics, a reactionary is a person who favors a return to a previous state of society which they believe possessed positive characteristics absent from contemporary.''The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought'' Third Edition, (1999) p. 729. ...

on... kink at pride isn't a problem". 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 US$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 ...

and from ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...

'' for challenging

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

on the meaning of

critical race theory Critical race theory (CRT) is an academic field focused on the relationships between Social constructionism, social conceptions of Race and ethnicity in the United States census, race and ethnicity, Law in the United States, social and political ...

while appearing on his podcast ''Timcast IRL''. He was also positively cited by sociologist Anthony Knowles for successfully communicating sociological ideas to a large audience outside the reach of academic sociologists.

References

Secondary sources

Primary sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaush 1994 births Living people 21st-century American LGBTQ people Activists from Los Angeles American activists with disabilities American anti-fascists American LGBTQ rights activists American people of Irish descent American people of Polish descent American socialists Beverly Hills High School alumni California socialists California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt alumni LGBTQ people from California LGBTQ YouTubers Libertarian socialists Pansexual entertainers Autistic LGBTQ people Autistic people People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder YouTubers with disabilities Progressivism in the United States Transgender rights activists American Twitch (service) streamers Washington (state) socialists YouTubers from Los Angeles American political commentators American activists for Palestinian solidarity Pansexual men American pansexual people