‘I relish when my foes despise me’: how Hasan Piker became among the most prominent voices on the US left

Hasan Piker dubs it the bus driver test: “You get on a bus and you have a brief moment to describe any online event unfolded to the bus driver without them looking at you and going, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online discourse, regardless of how fiery, fails the test, he argues – including a strange event recently, when someone on a Dublin street requested to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; attempting to explain the meaning of this particular event could easily take the remainder of this article.

Navigating the Gray Space

Piker increasingly exists in this liminal zone increasingly 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 channel Twitch. But since the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “traditional media” for his perspectives on the struggling political left, and especially that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Favorite Hate Figure for the Political Right

Predictably, this also makes Piker a prime target of the political right. To his enemies there is plenty to criticize: his direct political stances; his cultural background; his associations with progressive politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – does not fit stereotypical lefty caricatures. He has leveraged his physique in shirtless magazine spreads or social media posts.

“To be frank, 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 early and he’s getting ready to start his daily 11am show. He typically streams live for seven to eight hours straight, talking improvised about current affairs, pop culture, his personal life, 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

Establishing himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for streaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker says. His media career started out 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 eventually hosted his own show on the network in 2016 but in 2018 he decided to go solo on Twitch, to counterbalance what he saw as dominantly conservative, and often toxic views that infested the space.

“You can find ideological variety amongst the gamers, amongst the developers, among 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 conceded so many cultural spaces to the right. “You absolutely have to promote your ideas … but they just completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is consistently sharply critical of recent administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal supporter of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “empathy-first”, he explains. “My position is actually the standard position in most of the world.”

Controversies and Backlash

One of the dangers of Piker’s type of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives his opponents fodder. He has been suspended from Twitch several times for perceived 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 language was ill-chosen.

Likewise, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinian rights and condemnation of certain government actions have led to allegations 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 issues getting attacked by people on the right. I love when my enemies hate me,” he says. “It is what it is.”

Offline Repercussions

The hate increasingly risks 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 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, yelped suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded 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 stranger in Dublin.

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

The Difference Between Online and Real Worlds

This highlights the difference between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very difficult 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 fairly low stakes. In the US, he admits to feeling less safe. The assassination of a right-wing 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 over a decade,” he says. Unhealthy parasocial relationships come with the territory, he acknowledges.

Looking Ahead and Finding Balance

Having been prescient about the last election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “Things change 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 “wing”.

“We have to lean into 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 prevent 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 periodic 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 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 itching to get started.