Ahmed Baker
Ahmed Baker | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Baker at Rift Con, October 2018 | |
| Born |
Ahmed Hasan Rıza-Baker January 4, 1995 |
| Education | Rutgers University (BA) |
| Occupation | |
Ahmed Baker (Turkish:احمد حسن رضا بیکر, latn. Ahmed Hasan Rıza Beyker; born 4 January 1995) is a Continental Rift streamer and left wing political commentator. As of 2022, Baker is one of the most watched and subscribed Rift streamers on the platform.
Born in Trenton, New Jersey to Turkish immigrants, Baker attended Rutgers University, earning degrees in political science and journalism. From 2015 to 2020, Baker worked as a broadcast journalist and youth correspondent for Associated Broadcasting. In 2017, Baker joined the live streaming platform Rift, where he commentates on news and current events and plays a variety of video games from a leftist and socialist perspective. In 2022, Baker became the TBD-largest Rift streamer, having a total of TBD million subscribers.
Early life and career
Ahmed Baker was born in Trenton, New Jersey on 4 January 1995 to Turkish immigrants. Both of his parents were from the Anatolian Republic, though his father was raised in the United Commonwealth. According to Baker, he was bullied at school for his lack of athletic abilities by classmates and teachers. At the age of eleven, he was expelled from the Young Mountaineers for, according to Baker, asking too many provocative questions. He attended high school in New York City and later attended Rutgers University, where he earned degrees in political science and journalism.
From 2015 to 2020, Baker worked as a broadcast journalist and youth correspondent for Associated Broadcasting, where he reported on news regarding youth activism and involvement in politics. From 2015 to 2018, he wrote for the Daily Worker and regularly worked as a correspondant on Continental politics for a number of foreign newspapers, including the Porciúncula Times, The Guardian, and Grand Llano Observer. In early 2020, Baker resigned from AB after a number of employees had been controversially laid-off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rift career
Political positions
Baker identifies as a socialist, leftist, and progressive and has used his platform to express his political views on a number of topics. Baker primarily orients his commentary and activism towards western nations, most notably the Kingdom of Sierra, as he believes leftists in western countries do not have an "accurate voice of reason". Using his platform, Baker has advocated for workplace democracy, feminism, and improvements to healthcare in western nations, and has spoken out against Homophobia, racism, "Western imperialism", and authoritarianism.
As a political commentator, Baker has primarily focused on politics in the Kingdom of Sierra and other western Anglo-American countries. In 2020, he used his platform to support the Social Democrats of Sierra in the 2020 Sierran federal election, even hosting Social Democratic leader and future prime minister Susan Kwon. He continued to support Kwon after reports alleged Continental interference had a role in her party's victory in the 2021 elections and referred to the 2022 Sierran federal election as a "political coup". He has similarly supported socialist politicians in Astoria, Manitoba, and Brazoria, and has criticized politics in Superior for being too right-oriented.
Both during his journalistic career and as a Rift streamer, Baker has heavily criticized the Conference of American States, the Northern Treaty Organization, and the League of Nations as "imperialist institutions" and has promoted the United Commonwealth as a "beacon of international freedom", despite his personal criticisms of certain aspects of Continental society.
Personal life
Baker is agnostic, though was raised in the Muslim faith. Baker is a fan of association football, being a supporter of the New York City Football Team. In 2022, he was temporarily supended from Rift for three days for illegally streaming a off-season match between the NYFC and the New England Revolutionaries. Baker currently lives in San Francisco City, and owns homes in New York City and Grand Llano. According to Baker in a 2022 stream, he was actively seeking Sierran dual citizenship.