🔗 Share this article ‘I love when my foes hate me’: how Hasan Piker emerged as a leading the largest figures on the American political left Hasan Piker refers to it a simple litmus test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have 30 seconds to clarify whatever online event occurred to the bus driver before them looking at you and saying, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” Most online conversation, regardless of how heated, fails the test, he contends – including an incident recently, when a person on a Dublin street requested to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; trying to explain the significance of that specific event could easily take the rest of this article. Navigating the Gray Zone Piker finds himself in this liminal zone more and more these days. Until fairly recently, the 34-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 channel Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has become an sought-after voice in “the real world” for his perspectives on the beleaguered political left, and especially that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men. A Favorite Target for the Political Right Predictably, this also makes Piker a favorite villain of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot 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 caricatures. He has leveraged his appearance in shirtless magazine photoshoots or social media posts. “I’ll be honest, I had no idea that this is what I was going to be doing,” states Piker. “Like, 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 late morning show. He usually broadcasts live for seven to eight hours straight, 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 constant stream of comments from viewers. Beginning at The Young Turks to Twitch Establishing himself on Twitch, which is primarily for streaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker says. His media career began with The Young Turks, the progressive online news network. Piker’s parents are Turkish immigrants, and he was raised 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 provide an alternative to what he saw as dominantly conservative, and often toxic views that infested the space. “You can find ideological variety among the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political expression in this hobby is so heavily dominated by the right,” he notes. The Challenge with the American Left This is the fundamental issue with the American left in broad terms, argues 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 consistently critical of recent administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal supporter of the major center-left party. His own politics are generally social democrat and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in much of the world.” Firestorms and Criticism One of the dangers of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives his opponents ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple times for perceived offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the framework of a wider critique, he made a statement about a national tragedy that was seized upon by right-wing media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the language was inappropriate. Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and condemnation of certain state policies have led to allegations of prejudice, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing admiration for another major global power, after a trip there. “I have no problem 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 constantly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by American border agents on his re-entry from travel abroad. They questioned 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 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 mistreating the animal, sparking a online controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a prominent 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 Difference Between Online and Real Worlds This illustrates the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very hard to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world without 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 feels less safe. The fatal shooting 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 continues to do real-life streams in the US. “I can’t let fear dictate my life. I’ve gotten death threats for years,” he says. Unhealthy parasocial relationships come with the territory, he acknowledges. The Future and Staying Grounded Having been prescient about the last election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “Things change quite rapidly, but if you look at the avenues where there is some semblance of hope, it’s the left candidates that are actually really galvanising the public,” he says. He points to the progressive “wing”. “We have to embrace 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 dark alternative.” The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it doesn’t sound as if Piker is tempted in mainstream political office. He makes periodic media appearances, but he’s not tempted further into legacy media, he says. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.” But on top of that, he clearly enjoys it: “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 is about to begin, and he’s eager to get started.
Hasan Piker refers to it a simple litmus test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have 30 seconds to clarify whatever online event occurred to the bus driver before them looking at you and saying, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” Most online conversation, regardless of how heated, fails the test, he contends – including an incident recently, when a person on a Dublin street requested to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; trying to explain the significance of that specific event could easily take the rest of this article. Navigating the Gray Zone Piker finds himself in this liminal zone more and more these days. Until fairly recently, the 34-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 channel Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has become an sought-after voice in “the real world” for his perspectives on the beleaguered political left, and especially that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men. A Favorite Target for the Political Right Predictably, this also makes Piker a favorite villain of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot 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 caricatures. He has leveraged his appearance in shirtless magazine photoshoots or social media posts. “I’ll be honest, I had no idea that this is what I was going to be doing,” states Piker. “Like, 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 late morning show. He usually broadcasts live for seven to eight hours straight, 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 constant stream of comments from viewers. Beginning at The Young Turks to Twitch Establishing himself on Twitch, which is primarily for streaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker says. His media career began with The Young Turks, the progressive online news network. Piker’s parents are Turkish immigrants, and he was raised 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 provide an alternative to what he saw as dominantly conservative, and often toxic views that infested the space. “You can find ideological variety among the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political expression in this hobby is so heavily dominated by the right,” he notes. The Challenge with the American Left This is the fundamental issue with the American left in broad terms, argues 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 consistently critical of recent administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal supporter of the major center-left party. His own politics are generally social democrat and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in much of the world.” Firestorms and Criticism One of the dangers of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives his opponents ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple times for perceived offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the framework of a wider critique, he made a statement about a national tragedy that was seized upon by right-wing media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the language was inappropriate. Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and condemnation of certain state policies have led to allegations of prejudice, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing admiration for another major global power, after a trip there. “I have no problem 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 constantly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by American border agents on his re-entry from travel abroad. They questioned 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 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 mistreating the animal, sparking a online controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a prominent 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 Difference Between Online and Real Worlds This illustrates the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very hard to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world without 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 feels less safe. The fatal shooting 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 continues to do real-life streams in the US. “I can’t let fear dictate my life. I’ve gotten death threats for years,” he says. Unhealthy parasocial relationships come with the territory, he acknowledges. The Future and Staying Grounded Having been prescient about the last election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “Things change quite rapidly, but if you look at the avenues where there is some semblance of hope, it’s the left candidates that are actually really galvanising the public,” he says. He points to the progressive “wing”. “We have to embrace 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 dark alternative.” The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it doesn’t sound as if Piker is tempted in mainstream political office. He makes periodic media appearances, but he’s not tempted further into legacy media, he says. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.” But on top of that, he clearly enjoys it: “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 is about to begin, and he’s eager to get started.