‘I relish when my foes loathe me’: how Hasan Piker emerged as among the most prominent voices 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 whatever online phenomena took place to the bus driver without them looking at you and saying, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” Most online debate, no matter how fiery, does not pass the test, he argues – not least an incident last weekend, when a person on a Dublin street requested 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 significance of that specific event could easily take the rest of this article.

Occupying the Gray Space

Piker increasingly exists in this gray area increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was familiar only to the very online, especially Americans in their 20s and 30s, largely thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has become an in-demand voice in “the real world” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and especially that constantly discussed demographic, young men.

A Prime Hate Figure for the Right

Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a favorite villain of the political right. To his c critics there is plenty to dislike: his outspoken political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his associations with left-wing 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 shirtless magazine photoshoots or social media posts.

“To be frank, I had no clue that this is what I was going to be doing,” says 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 early and he’s getting ready to start his regular late morning show. He usually streams live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking improvised 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.

From 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. 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 divisive views that permeated the space.

“You can find ideological variety among the gamers, among 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 Problem with the American Left

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

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

Controversies and Backlash

One of the dangers of Piker’s type of informal, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his critics ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple times for deemed offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the framework of a wider critique, he made a comment about a national tragedy that was amplified by conservative media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the wording was inappropriate.

Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and criticism of certain government actions have led to allegations of prejudice, which he denies. He has also been mocked for expressing admiration 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 says. “It is what it is.”

Offline Consequences

The hate increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by American border agents on his return from travel abroad. They questioned him about his political opinions before releasing him. “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 originated from a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, yelped suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was harming the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a major animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the surprise encounter 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 reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said.

The Divide Between Online and Real Worlds

This illustrates the chasm 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 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 assassination of a conservative commentator served as a shocking example of where this online hate can end up. Piker watched the event develop 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 one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he acknowledges.

The Future and Staying Grounded

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

“We have to lean into that, because I feel like it’s a matter of critical importance at this point,” he continues. “So I will do anything in my power to try and prevent a dark alternative.”

The American left could arguably do with someone like Piker. But it doesn’t sound as if Piker is interested in mainstream political office. He makes periodic 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.”

And on top of that, he clearly 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 is about to begin, and he’s itching to get started.