🔗 Share this article ‘I love when my adversaries despise me’: the way Hasan Piker rose to become a leading the biggest personalities on the US political left Hasan Piker calls it a simple litmus test: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have half a minute to describe any online phenomena took place to the bus driver without them looking at you and going, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” Most online conversation, no matter how fiery, does not pass the test, he contends – including a strange event recently, when someone on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; attempting to explain the importance of this particular event could easily take the remainder of this article. Navigating the Gray Zone Piker finds himself in this in-between space more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was known only to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has become an in-demand voice in “offline circles” for his perspectives on the struggling political left, and especially that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men. A Prime Hate Figure for the Political Right Predictably, this also positions Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his enemies there is plenty to criticize: his blunt political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – defies stereotypical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid his appearance in revealing magazine photoshoots or social media posts. “I’ll be honest, I had no clue that this is what I was going to be doing,” states Piker. “Like, if someone were to ask me, did you imagine that you’d become a Twitch streamer? I’d be like, what is Twitch?” It’s the morning and he’s getting ready to start his regular 11am show. He usually broadcasts live for seven to eight hours straight, talking unscripted about the news, pop culture, what he’s up to, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the constant stream of messages from viewers. Beginning at The Young Turks to Solo Streaming Building himself on Twitch, which is primarily for livestreaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker explains. His media career started out with The Young Turks, the progressive online news network. Piker’s parents are Turkish immigrants, and he was raised between New Jersey and Istanbul before majoring in political science. He graduated to his own show on the network in 2016 but in 2018 he decided to go solo on Twitch, to provide an alternative to what he saw as dominantly rightwing, and often divisive views that infested the space. “There’s a lot of ideological diversity among the gamers, among the developers, among the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political commentary in this hobby is so heavily dominated by the right,” he notes. The Problem with the American Left This is the fundamental issue with the American left in broad terms, says Piker: they’ve conceded so many battlegrounds to the right. “You still have to market your ideas … but they simply completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.” Piker is consistently sharply critical of past administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is no loyal member of the major center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democratic and “empathy-first”, he explains. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in much of the world.” Firestorms and Criticism One of the risks of Piker’s type of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his critics ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch multiple times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the framework of a broader critique, he made a statement about a national tragedy that was amplified by right-wing media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was ill-chosen. Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and condemnation of certain state policies have led to accusations of prejudice, which he strongly rejects. He has also been mocked for expressing praise for a different major global power, after a trip there. “I have no problem getting attacked by people on the right. I relish when my enemies hate me,” he states. “It is what it is.” Offline Consequences The hate increasingly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by US border agents on his re-entry from travel abroad. They questioned him about his political opinions before letting him go. “I think they did it because they are aware of who I am,” he said. These levels of enmity help explain the “Free Kaya!” incident in Dublin. It started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, made a noise suddenly. Online detractors jumped to the conclusion that Piker was harming the animal, sparking a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a prominent animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the ambush by a stranger in Dublin. Piker handled the situation in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was clipped from his live stream and disseminated with his reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said. The Divide Between Digital and Offline Worlds This highlights the difference between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world without coming across as unhinged and odd. Exchanges on the internet create this environment where you can be as hostile as you want.” That Dublin encounter was relatively low stakes. In the US, he feels less safe. The assassination of a conservative commentator served as a harrowing example of where this online hate can end up. Piker watched the event unfold in real time on his stream. Piker continues to do real-life streams in the US. “I can’t let fear guide my life. I’ve gotten death threats for years,” he says. Unhealthy parasocial relationships come with the territory, he accepts. The Future and Staying Grounded Having been accurate about the last election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “Things change quite rapidly, but if you look at the areas where there is some glimmer of hope, it’s the left candidates that are actually truly galvanising the public,” he says. He references the progressive “wing”. “We have to embrace that, because I feel like it’s a matter of critical importance at this point,” he adds. “So I will do everything in my power to try and prevent a worse alternative.” The American left could arguably do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is interested in traditional political office. He makes occasional media appearances, but he’s not tempted further into traditional media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.” But on top of that, he still finds it fulfilling: “I find a lot of emotional fulfilment in what I do.” As he’s talking, he’s got one eye on the clock. Another lengthy live stream awaits, and he’s itching to get started.
Hasan Piker calls it a simple litmus test: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have half a minute to describe any online phenomena took place to the bus driver without them looking at you and going, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” Most online conversation, no matter how fiery, does not pass the test, he contends – including a strange event recently, when someone on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; attempting to explain the importance of this particular event could easily take the remainder of this article. Navigating the Gray Zone Piker finds himself in this in-between space more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was known only to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has become an in-demand voice in “offline circles” for his perspectives on the struggling political left, and especially that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men. A Prime Hate Figure for the Political Right Predictably, this also positions Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his enemies there is plenty to criticize: his blunt political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – defies stereotypical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid his appearance in revealing magazine photoshoots or social media posts. “I’ll be honest, I had no clue that this is what I was going to be doing,” states Piker. “Like, if someone were to ask me, did you imagine that you’d become a Twitch streamer? I’d be like, what is Twitch?” It’s the morning and he’s getting ready to start his regular 11am show. He usually broadcasts live for seven to eight hours straight, talking unscripted about the news, pop culture, what he’s up to, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the constant stream of messages from viewers. Beginning at The Young Turks to Solo Streaming Building himself on Twitch, which is primarily for livestreaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker explains. His media career started out with The Young Turks, the progressive online news network. Piker’s parents are Turkish immigrants, and he was raised between New Jersey and Istanbul before majoring in political science. He graduated to his own show on the network in 2016 but in 2018 he decided to go solo on Twitch, to provide an alternative to what he saw as dominantly rightwing, and often divisive views that infested the space. “There’s a lot of ideological diversity among the gamers, among the developers, among the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political commentary in this hobby is so heavily dominated by the right,” he notes. The Problem with the American Left This is the fundamental issue with the American left in broad terms, says Piker: they’ve conceded so many battlegrounds to the right. “You still have to market your ideas … but they simply completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.” Piker is consistently sharply critical of past administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is no loyal member of the major center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democratic and “empathy-first”, he explains. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in much of the world.” Firestorms and Criticism One of the risks of Piker’s type of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his critics ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch multiple times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the framework of a broader critique, he made a statement about a national tragedy that was amplified by right-wing media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was ill-chosen. Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and condemnation of certain state policies have led to accusations of prejudice, which he strongly rejects. He has also been mocked for expressing praise for a different major global power, after a trip there. “I have no problem getting attacked by people on the right. I relish when my enemies hate me,” he states. “It is what it is.” Offline Consequences The hate increasingly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by US border agents on his re-entry from travel abroad. They questioned him about his political opinions before letting him go. “I think they did it because they are aware of who I am,” he said. These levels of enmity help explain the “Free Kaya!” incident in Dublin. It started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, made a noise suddenly. Online detractors jumped to the conclusion that Piker was harming the animal, sparking a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a prominent animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the ambush by a stranger in Dublin. Piker handled the situation in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was clipped from his live stream and disseminated with his reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said. The Divide Between Digital and Offline Worlds This highlights the difference between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world without coming across as unhinged and odd. Exchanges on the internet create this environment where you can be as hostile as you want.” That Dublin encounter was relatively low stakes. In the US, he feels less safe. The assassination of a conservative commentator served as a harrowing example of where this online hate can end up. Piker watched the event unfold in real time on his stream. Piker continues to do real-life streams in the US. “I can’t let fear guide my life. I’ve gotten death threats for years,” he says. Unhealthy parasocial relationships come with the territory, he accepts. The Future and Staying Grounded Having been accurate about the last election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “Things change quite rapidly, but if you look at the areas where there is some glimmer of hope, it’s the left candidates that are actually truly galvanising the public,” he says. He references the progressive “wing”. “We have to embrace that, because I feel like it’s a matter of critical importance at this point,” he adds. “So I will do everything in my power to try and prevent a worse alternative.” The American left could arguably do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is interested in traditional political office. He makes occasional media appearances, but he’s not tempted further into traditional media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.” But on top of that, he still finds it fulfilling: “I find a lot of emotional fulfilment in what I do.” As he’s talking, he’s got one eye on the clock. Another lengthy live stream awaits, and he’s itching to get started.