PhD candidate Gerrit Krueper‘s research delves into the realm of livestreams, exploring their direct impact on political movements and voting behaviour within the vast online audience. His focus lies in examining how the political left contends with right-wing online dominance through content dissemination. His research poses a crucial question: How do livestreaming platforms serve to render politics and intricate economic concepts more accessible to youthful audiences who might otherwise shy away from such topics? Recently, Gerrit engaged in an insightful interview with Sisyphus 55, a Canadian-American YouTuber renowned for his videos on philosophy, empathy, and contemporary thinkers, often complemented by engaging illustrations.
From Gerrit:
“Beyond analyzing livestreams and online content by leftist creators, I have conducted in-depth interviews with 20 influential online figures like Vaush, Contrapoints, and Wisecrack. I am exploring the landscape of the political left within the digital sphere by directly communicating with streamers and leftist content creators who are otherwise removed from the academic context. I attempt to bridge both fields by translating complex academic concepts to non-academic creators and audiences, and vice versa, I bring their ideas and commentary to the academic world. This work critically analyzes the successes and shortcomings of leftist content creation, aiming to make it more accessible and impactful for a wider audience. My collaboration with YouTuber Sisyphus 55 on a video called “The Revolution Will Not Be Uploaded” (that has so far reached over 200,000 viewers) exemplifies this goal. This project directly contributes to public understanding of a complex and often misunderstood political movement. With my contribution, Sisyphus created his magnum opus on the intricacies of the online left, perceiving their content and online activity from both a critical but also highly intrigued lens.”
