‘I relish when my foes loathe me’: how Hasan Piker emerged as one of the most prominent voices on the American left

Hasan Piker calls it an everyday benchmark: “You get on a bus and you have 30 seconds to clarify whatever online phenomena unfolded to the bus driver before them turning to you and saying, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online discourse, no matter how intense, fails the test, he argues – not least an incident last weekend, when someone on a Dublin street asked 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 importance of this particular event could easily take the rest of this article.

Navigating the Blurred Zone

Piker finds himself in this liminal zone more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the thirty-four-year-old was known primarily to the very online, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, largely thanks to his presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But since the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “traditional media” for his perspectives on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that constantly discussed demographic, young men.

A Favorite Hate Figure for the Political Right

Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a prime target of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to criticize: his outspoken political stances; his cultural background; his associations with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – does not fit stereotypical lefty stereotypes. He has leveraged his appearance in revealing 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 imagine 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 late morning show. He typically broadcasts live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking unscripted about the news, lifestyle stories, his personal life, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and responding to the never-ending stream of comments 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 explains. 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 chose to go solo on Twitch, to counterbalance what he saw as dominantly rightwing, and often divisive views that infested the space.

“There’s a lot of ideological variety among the gamers, among the developers, among the consumers, but sadly, the market for political commentary in this hobby 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 broad terms, says Piker: they’ve relinquished so many arenas to the right. “You absolutely have to promote your ideas … but they just completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is consistently critical of past administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal supporter of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “compassion-driven”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the standard position in much of the world.”

Firestorms and Backlash

One of the risks of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes 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 national tragedy that was seized upon by right-wing 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 state policies have led to allegations of bias, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed 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.”

Offline Repercussions

The vitriol constantly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by US 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 hostility help explain the “Free Kaya!” incident in Dublin. It started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, made a noise suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, sparking a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a major animal rights organization put out 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 disseminated with his reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said.

The Difference Between Digital and Offline Worlds

This illustrates the chasm 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 hysterical 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 conservative commentator served as a harrowing example of where this online hate can end up. 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 guide 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 quickly, but if you look at the avenues where there is some semblance of hope, it’s the left 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 adds. “So I will do everything in my power to try and prevent a worse alternative.”

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

But on top of that, he still finds it fulfilling: “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 awaits, and he’s eager to get started.