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

Hasan Piker dubs it the bus driver test: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have half a minute to describe any online phenomena unfolded to the bus driver without them turning to you and going, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online conversation, no matter how intense, fails the test, he contends – including a strange event recently, when someone on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; attempting to explain the significance of this particular event might well take the remainder of this article.

Existing in the Gray Space

Piker operates in this gray area increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was familiar only to the digitally immersed, especially 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 become an in-demand voice in “the real world” for his analysis on the struggling political left, and especially that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Favorite Target for the Political Right

Predictably, this also positions Piker a favorite hate figure of the political right. To his detractors there is a lot to criticize: his direct political stances; his cultural background; his allegiances with progressive politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – defies typical lefty stereotypes. He has leveraged his physique in shirtless magazine spreads or social media posts.

“I’ll be honest, 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 preparing to start his daily 11am show. He usually broadcasts live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking off the cuff about current affairs, pop culture, what he’s up to, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending stream of messages from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Building himself on Twitch, which is primarily for streaming 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 decided 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, among the developers, among the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political commentary in this hobby 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, argues Piker: they’ve relinquished so many cultural spaces to the right. “You absolutely have to market your ideas … but they simply completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is regularly critical of recent 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 “empathy-first”, he explains. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in much of the world.”

Controversies and Backlash

One of the risks of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his opponents ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch several times for perceived offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the context of a broader critique, he made a comment about a historic attack that was amplified by right-wing media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the language was ill-chosen.

Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and condemnation of certain government actions have led to allegations of prejudice, which he strongly rejects. He has also been mocked for expressing praise for another major global power, after a trip there.

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

Real-World Repercussions

The hate increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by US border agents on his return from a trip. They interrogated him about his political opinions before releasing him. “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 originated from a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, yelped suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, sparking a online controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent animal rights organization issued 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 shared with his reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said.

The Difference Between Digital and Offline Worlds

This illustrates the difference 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 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 feels less safe. The assassination of a conservative commentator was a shocking example of where this online hate can lead. Piker watched the event develop in real time on his stream.

Piker still 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. Unhealthy one-sided fan dynamics 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? “The landscape shifts quite quickly, but if you look at the areas where there is some semblance of hope, it’s the progressive candidates that are actually truly galvanising the public,” he says. He references the progressive “wing”.

“We have to embrace 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 traditional 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.”

And 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.