‘I adore when my adversaries despise me’: how Hasan Piker rose to become one of the largest personalities on the US political left

Hasan Piker refers to it the bus driver test: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have 30 seconds to explain any online event took place to the bus driver without them looking at you and going, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online debate, regardless of how heated, fails the test, he contends – including a strange event last weekend, 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; attempting to explain the importance of this particular event could easily take the rest of this article.

Occupying the In-Between Space

Piker finds himself in this gray area more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the thirty-four-year-old was familiar primarily to the very online, especially Americans in their twenties and thirties, mostly thanks to his presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has become an in-demand voice in “traditional media” for his perspectives on the beleaguered political left, and especially that inordinately discussed demographic, young men.

A Favorite Hate Figure for the Right

Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a favorite hate figure of the political right. To his c critics there is plenty to criticize: his blunt political views; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances with progressive politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – defies stereotypical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid 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,” states 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 the morning and he’s getting ready to start his regular 11am show. He typically streams live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking unscripted about the news, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and responding to the never-ending stream of comments from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Twitch

Building himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for livestreaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker explains. 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 counterbalance what he saw as dominantly conservative, and often divisive views that infested the space.

“You can find ideological diversity among the gamers, among the developers, among the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political expression in this arena is so overwhelmingly dominated by the right,” he notes.

The Problem with the American Left

This is the core issue with the American left in broad terms, argues Piker: they’ve relinquished so many cultural spaces 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, particularly on foreign policy, but he is no loyal member of the major center-left party. His own politics are generally social democrat and “compassion-driven”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the normal position in much of the world.”

Controversies and Criticism

One of the dangers of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which provides his critics ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch several times for perceived offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the context of a wider critique, he made a statement about a national tragedy that was amplified by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the language was inappropriate.

Likewise, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinians and condemnation of certain state policies have led to accusations of bias, which he strongly rejects. He has also been mocked 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 relish when my enemies hate me,” he states. “It is what it is.”

Offline Repercussions

The hate increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by US border agents on his return from a trip. 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 enmity help explain the “Free Kaya!” incident in Dublin. It originated from a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, yelped suddenly. Online detractors jumped to the conclusion that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a major animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the ambush by a random 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 Divide 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 negative energy in the real world without coming across as unhinged and odd. Interactions 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 admits to feeling less safe. The assassination of a conservative commentator was a harrowing 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. Toxic one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he acknowledges.

The Future and Staying Grounded

Having been accurate about a recent election, how does Piker view the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite rapidly, but if you look at the areas where there is some semblance of hope, it’s the progressive candidates that are actually really 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 adds. “So I will do anything in my power to try and prevent a worse alternative.”

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

But on top of that, he clearly finds it fulfilling: “I find a lot of emotional 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 itching to get started.