From Digital Commentator to Political Lightning Rod: The Rise of Hasan Piker

Hasan Piker refers to it an everyday benchmark: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have half a minute to describe whatever online phenomena unfolded to the bus driver before them looking at you and going, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” Most online conversation, regardless of how heated, does not pass the test, he says – including a strange event last weekend, when a person on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; attempting to explain the meaning of this particular event might well take the remainder of this article.

Occupying the Blurred Zone

Piker finds himself 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, largely thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “offline circles” for his perspectives on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that constantly discussed demographic, young men.

A Prime Hate Figure for the Political Right

Predictably, this also makes Piker a prime target of the political right. To his c critics there is plenty to criticize: his outspoken political views; his Turkish, Muslim background; his associations with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – does not fit typical lefty stereotypes. He has not been afraid his appearance in revealing magazine spreads or social media posts.

“To be frank, I had no idea that this is what I was going to be doing,” says Piker. “For instance, if someone were to ask me, did you imagine 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 streams live for seven to eight hours straight, talking improvised about the news, pop culture, what he’s up to, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and responding to the never-ending stream of messages from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Building himself on Twitch, a platform 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 was raised 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 overwhelmingly conservative, and often toxic views that infested the space.

“There’s a lot of ideological variety amongst the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political expression 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 broad terms, argues Piker: they’ve conceded so many battlegrounds to the right. “You absolutely have to promote your ideas … but they simply completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is regularly critical of recent administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal member of the major center-left party. His own politics are generally social democrat and “compassion-driven”, he explains. “My viewpoint is actually the normal position in most of the world.”

Firestorms and Criticism

One of the risks of Piker’s style of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which provides his critics ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch multiple times for perceived offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the context of a wider critique, he made a comment about a national tragedy that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the language was ill-chosen.

Similarly, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain state policies have led to allegations of bias, which he strongly rejects. He has also been mocked 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 states. “It is what it is.”

Real-World Repercussions

The hate increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained 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 started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, made a noise suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists swiftly concluded that Piker was harming the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a major animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the ambush by a random in Dublin.

Piker handled the situation 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 Divide Between Online and Offline Worlds

This highlights the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very hard to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world and not coming across as unhinged and odd. Interactions on the internet create this environment where you can be as hostile as you want.”

That Dublin encounter was fairly 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 lead. 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 over a decade,” he says. Toxic one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he accepts.

The Future and Staying Grounded

Having been prescient about the last 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 truly 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 critical importance at this point,” he continues. “So I will do everything in my power to try and avoid a worse alternative.”

The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it doesn’t sound as if Piker is interested in mainstream political office. He makes occasional media guest spots, but he’s not tempted further into legacy media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from traditional publishers.”

But on top of that, he still 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 lengthy live stream is about to begin, and he’s itching to get started.