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

Hasan Piker calls it an everyday benchmark: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have a brief moment to describe whatever online drama unfolded to the bus driver before them looking at you and going, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” Most online discourse, no matter how fiery, does not pass the test, he argues – including a strange event last weekend, when a person on a Dublin street requested to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; attempting to explain the significance of this particular event might well take the remainder of this article.

Existing in the Blurred Zone

Piker increasingly exists in this gray area more and more these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was known primarily to the very online, especially Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But following the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an sought-after voice in “the real world” for his views on the beleaguered political left, and especially that constantly discussed demographic, young men.

A Prime Target for the Right

Predictably, this also positions Piker a favorite villain of the political right. To his c critics there is a lot to dislike: his blunt political views; his cultural background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – does not fit stereotypical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid his physique in revealing magazine photoshoots or social media posts.

“To be frank, I had no idea that this is what I was going to be doing,” says 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 early and he’s preparing to start his regular 11am show. He usually broadcasts live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking off the cuff about the news, pop culture, what he’s up to, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending stream of comments from viewers.

From The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Building himself on Twitch, which is primarily for streaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker explains. His media career began with The Young Turks, the progressive online news network. Piker’s 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 dominantly conservative, and often divisive views that infested the space.

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

The Problem with the American Left

This is the fundamental problem with the American left in broad terms, says Piker: they’ve conceded so many arenas to the right. “You absolutely have to promote your ideas … but they just completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is regularly critical of past administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal supporter of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democratic and “empathy-first”, he explains. “My viewpoint is actually the normal position in most of the world.”

Controversies and Criticism

One of the dangers of Piker’s style of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives his critics ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch several times for deemed 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 vocal support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain state policies have led to allegations of bias, which he denies. He has also been mocked for expressing praise 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 Repercussions

The hate constantly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by US border agents on his return from travel abroad. They interrogated him about his views before letting him go. “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 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 put out a statement. This led to the ambush by a stranger in Dublin.

Piker took that encounter 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 devastated,” he said.

The Divide Between Online and Real Worlds

This illustrates the difference between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very hard to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world and not 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 admits to feeling less safe. The assassination of a conservative commentator served as a shocking example of where this online hate can end up. Piker watched the event unfold in real time on his stream.

Piker still do real-life streams in the US. “I can’t let fear guide my life. I’ve gotten death threats for over a decade,” he says. Unhealthy parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he accepts.

The Future and Staying Grounded

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

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

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

But on top of that, he clearly finds it fulfilling: “I find a lot of personal fulfilment in what I do.” As he’s talking, he’s got one eye on the clock. Another marathon live stream awaits, and he’s itching to get started.