‘I relish when my adversaries despise me’: the way Hasan Piker rose to become among the most prominent voices on the US political left

Hasan Piker calls it the bus driver test: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have 30 seconds to explain whatever online drama took place to the bus driver before them looking at you and saying, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” Most online conversation, regardless of how intense, does not pass the test, he contends – including an incident recently, when a person 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 meaning of that specific event might well take the remainder of this article.

Occupying the Gray 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 digitally immersed, particularly Americans in their twenties and thirties, largely thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an sought-after voice in “traditional media” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and especially that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Prime Target for the Political Right

Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a favorite target of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to criticize: his outspoken political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his associations with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – defies typical lefty stereotypes. He has not been afraid his physique 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. “Like, 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 preparing to start his daily late morning show. He typically broadcasts live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking improvised about current affairs, pop culture, what he’s up to, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending stream of comments from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Twitch

Establishing himself on Twitch, which is primarily for livestreaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker says. His media career started out with The Young Turks, the progressive online news network. His 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 rightwing, and often divisive views that infested the space.

“There’s a lot of ideological diversity amongst the gamers, among the developers, amongst 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 core issue with the American left in broad terms, says Piker: they’ve ceded so many arenas to the right. “You still have to market your ideas … but they simply completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is consistently critical of recent administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal member of the major center-left party. His own politics are broadly 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 type of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his opponents fodder. He has been suspended from Twitch multiple 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 amplified by conservative media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the wording was ill-chosen.

Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain government actions have led to allegations of bias, 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.”

Real-World Repercussions

The vitriol 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 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, igniting a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent 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 shared with his response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said.

The Divide Between Digital and Offline Worlds

This highlights the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very negative 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 aggressive as you want.”

That Dublin encounter was fairly low stakes. In the US, he feels less safe. The assassination 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 still do real-life streams in the US. “I can’t let fear guide my life. I’ve gotten death threats for over a decade,” he says. Unhealthy parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he acknowledges.

The Future and Finding Balance

Having been prescient about the last election, how does Piker view the next few years? “Things change quite rapidly, but if you look at the areas where there is some glimmer of hope, it’s the left candidates that are actually truly 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 critical importance at this point,” he adds. “So I will do everything in my power to try and prevent a dark alternative.”

The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is tempted in traditional political office. He makes occasional media guest spots, but he’s not drawn further into traditional media, he says. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from legacy 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 lengthy live stream is about to begin, and he’s itching to get started.