‘I relish when my adversaries loathe me’: how Hasan Piker rose to become among the largest figures on the US political left

Hasan Piker refers to it a simple litmus test: “You get on a bus and you have half a minute to clarify any online phenomena occurred to the bus driver before them turning to you and saying, ‘Get off the fucking bus.’” Most online debate, regardless of how heated, fails the test, he says – including an incident 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 meaning of that specific event might well take the remainder of this article.

Occupying the Blurred Space

Piker operates in this liminal zone more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was known primarily to the very online, especially Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But since the last presidential election, Piker has become an in-demand voice in “the real world” for his analysis on the struggling political left, and specifically that constantly discussed demographic, young men.

A Favorite Hate Figure for the Political Right

Predictably, this also makes Piker a prime hate figure of the political right. To his c critics there is plenty to dislike: his direct political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – does not fit stereotypical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid his appearance in revealing magazine spreads or social media posts.

“To be frank, I had no idea that this is what I was going to be doing,” states Piker. “Like, 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 getting ready to start his daily late morning show. He typically streams live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking off the cuff about current affairs, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and responding to the never-ending stream of comments from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Building himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for streaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker explains. His media career began with The Young Turks, the progressive online news network. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he was raised between New Jersey and Istanbul before studying political science. He eventually hosted 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 dominantly rightwing, and often toxic views that permeated the space.

“There’s a lot of ideological variety among the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political expression in this hobby is so heavily dominated by the right,” he notes.

The Problem with the American Left

This is the core issue with the American left in general, says Piker: they’ve relinquished so many arenas to the right. “You still have to market your ideas … but they just completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is regularly critical of past administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is no loyal supporter of the major center-left party. His own politics are generally social democrat and “compassion-driven”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the normal position in most of the world.”

Controversies and Backlash

One of the dangers of Piker’s style of relaxed, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which provides his critics fodder. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch several times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the framework of a wider critique, he made a comment about a historic attack that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was inappropriate.

Similarly, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinians and criticism of certain government actions have led to allegations of bias, which he denies. He has also been mocked for expressing admiration for a different major global power, after a trip there.

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

Real-World Consequences

The vitriol increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by American border agents on his re-entry from a trip. They questioned him about his political opinions before letting him go. “I think they did it because they know who I am,” he said.

These levels of hostility 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, igniting a online controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the surprise encounter by a random in Dublin.

Piker handled the situation in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was edited from his live stream and disseminated with his response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said.

The Divide Between Digital and Real Worlds

This highlights the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very hostile 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 aggressive as you want.”

That Dublin encounter was relatively low stakes. In the US, he admits to feeling less safe. The assassination of a right-wing commentator was a shocking example of where this online hate can lead. 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 dictate my life. I’ve gotten death threats for over a decade,” he says. Toxic one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he acknowledges.

Looking Ahead and Finding Balance

Having been prescient about the last election, how does Piker view the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite quickly, but if you look at the areas where there is some glimmer of hope, it’s the progressive candidates that are actually really 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 anything in my power to try and avoid a worse alternative.”

The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it doesn’t sound as if Piker is tempted in mainstream political office. He makes occasional media appearances, but he’s not drawn further into legacy media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.”

But 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 is about to begin, and he’s eager to get started.