From Digital Streamer to Ideological Lightning Rod: The Ascent of Hasan Piker

Hasan Piker refers to it a simple litmus test: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have 30 seconds to explain whatever online event occurred to the bus driver before them turning to you and going, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online debate, no matter how fiery, fails the test, he says – not least a strange event recently, when someone on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; attempting to explain the meaning of this particular event could easily take the rest of this article.

Occupying the In-Between Space

Piker operates in this in-between space more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was known primarily to the very online, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But since the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “offline circles” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and especially that inordinately discussed demographic, young men.

A Prime Target for the Political Right

Predictably, this also positions Piker a prime target of the political right. To his c critics there is plenty to dislike: his direct political views; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – defies stereotypical lefty stereotypes. He has leveraged his physique in shirtless 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. “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 off the cuff about the news, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, engaging with 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, which is primarily for livestreaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker says. 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 studying 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 toxic views that permeated the space.

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

The Challenge with the American Left

This is the core problem with the American left in general, argues Piker: they’ve relinquished so many arenas to the right. “You absolutely have to market your ideas … but they simply 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 no loyal supporter of the major center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My viewpoint is actually the normal position in most of the world.”

Firestorms and Criticism

One of the risks of Piker’s style of relaxed, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his critics ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch multiple times for perceived offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the context of a broader critique, he made a comment about a historic attack that was amplified by conservative media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the wording was inappropriate.

Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and criticism of certain state policies have led to accusations of bias, which he strongly rejects. He has also been ridiculed for expressing praise for a different 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.”

Offline Repercussions

The vitriol increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by US border agents on his return from travel abroad. 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 mistreating the animal, igniting a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a major animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the surprise encounter by a stranger in Dublin.

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

The Divide Between Online and Offline Worlds

This illustrates the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very hard to maintain a very negative energy in the real world and not coming across as unhinged and odd. Exchanges 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 fatal shooting of a right-wing commentator served as a harrowing example of where this online hate can lead. 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. Toxic one-sided fan dynamics come with the territory, he acknowledges.

Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded

Having been accurate about a recent election, how does Piker view the next few years? “Things change 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 “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 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. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.”

And on top of that, he still 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 eager to get started.