‘I relish when my adversaries hate me’: the way Hasan Piker rose to become among the largest voices on the American political left

Hasan Piker calls it the bus driver test: “You get on a bus and you have 30 seconds to explain any online phenomena unfolded to the bus driver before them looking at you and going, ‘Get off the fucking bus.’” Most online discourse, no matter how fiery, fails the test, he argues – including a strange event last weekend, when a person on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; trying to explain the importance of this particular event could easily take the rest of this article.

Navigating the Blurred Space

Piker finds himself in this in-between space increasingly these days. Until relatively recently, the thirty-four-year-old was familiar only to the very online, especially Americans in their twenties and thirties, mostly thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But since the last presidential election, Piker has become an in-demand voice in “offline circles” for his views on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that inordinately discussed demographic, young men.

A Prime Hate Figure for the Political Right

Predictably, this also makes Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his c critics there is a lot to criticize: his direct political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his associations with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – defies typical lefty stereotypes. He has leveraged his physique in revealing magazine spreads or social media posts.

“I’ll be honest, I had no clue that this is what I was going to be doing,” states Piker. “For instance, if someone were to ask me, did you ever think that you’d become a Twitch streamer? I’d be like, what is Twitch?”

It’s the morning and he’s preparing to start his regular late morning show. He typically broadcasts live for seven to eight hours straight, talking unscripted about the news, lifestyle stories, his personal life, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and responding to the constant stream of messages from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Establishing himself on Twitch, which is primarily for livestreaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker says. His media career started out with The Young Turks, the progressive online news network. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he grew up 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 chose to go solo on Twitch, to provide an alternative to what he saw as overwhelmingly conservative, and often divisive views that permeated the space.

“You can find ideological variety amongst the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political commentary in this arena is so heavily dominated by the right,” he notes.

The Challenge with the American Left

This is the fundamental problem with the American left in general, argues Piker: they’ve ceded so many battlegrounds to the right. “You still have to market your ideas … but they just 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 not a loyal supporter of the major center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democratic and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in much of the world.”

Controversies and Criticism

One of the dangers of Piker’s type of relaxed, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his opponents fodder. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch several times for perceived offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the context of a broader critique, he made a statement about a national tragedy that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the wording was ill-chosen.

Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and condemnation of certain government actions have led to accusations of bias, which he strongly rejects. He has also been mocked for expressing admiration for another major global power, after a trip there.

“I have no problem getting vilified by people on the right. I love when my enemies hate me,” he states. “It is what it is.”

Real-World Consequences

The vitriol increasingly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by US border agents on his return from a trip. They interrogated him about his views before releasing him. “I think they did it because they know who I am,” he said.

These levels of enmity help explain the “Free Kaya!” incident in Dublin. It originated from a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, made a noise suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists jumped to the conclusion that Piker was harming the animal, igniting a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the surprise encounter by a random in Dublin.

Piker took that encounter in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was edited from his live stream and shared 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 illustrates the difference between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very hard to maintain a very negative energy in the real world and not coming across as hysterical and odd. Interactions on the internet foster 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 lead. Piker watched the event develop in real time on his stream.

Piker still do real-life streams in the US. “I can’t let fear dictate my life. I’ve gotten death threats for years,” he says. Toxic one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he acknowledges.

The Future and Finding Balance

Having been prescient about the last election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite rapidly, but if you look at the areas where there is some semblance of hope, it’s the left candidates that are actually really galvanising the public,” he says. He points to the progressive “left flank”.

“We have to embrace that, because I feel like it’s a matter of life or death at this point,” he continues. “So I will do anything in my power to try and avoid a worse alternative.”

The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is tempted in mainstream political office. He makes periodic media appearances, but he’s not tempted further into traditional media, he says. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from traditional publishers.”

And on top of that, he still enjoys it: “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.