From Online Streamer to Ideological Lightning Rod: The Ascent of Hasan Piker

Hasan Piker calls it a simple litmus test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have 30 seconds to explain whatever online phenomena occurred to the bus driver before them turning to you and going, ‘Get off the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online debate, no matter how fiery, does not pass the test, he contends – including an incident last weekend, when a person on a Dublin street asked 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 meaning of this particular event might well take the rest of this article.

Occupying the Blurred Space

Piker finds himself in this in-between space more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was familiar primarily to the very online, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following the last presidential election, Piker has become an in-demand voice in “the real world” for his perspectives on the struggling political left, and specifically that constantly discussed demographic, young men.

A Favorite Hate Figure for the Right

Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a favorite target of the political right. To his c critics there is plenty to dislike: his direct political stances; his cultural background; his allegiances with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – defies typical lefty caricatures. He has leveraged his appearance in shirtless magazine spreads or social media posts.

“I’ll be honest, 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 ever think 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 regular late morning show. He typically broadcasts live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking off the cuff about current affairs, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and responding to the constant stream of messages from viewers.

From 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 began with The Young Turks, the left-leaning online news network. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he grew up between New Jersey and Istanbul before majoring in political science. He graduated to his own show on the network in 2016 but in 2018 he chose to go solo on Twitch, to provide an alternative to what he saw as dominantly conservative, and often divisive views that permeated the space.

“There’s a lot of ideological variety among the gamers, amongst the developers, among the consumers, but sadly, the market for political commentary in this hobby is so overwhelmingly dominated by the right,” he says.

The Challenge with the American Left

This is the core issue with the American left in general, says Piker: they’ve conceded so many arenas to the right. “You absolutely have to promote your ideas … but they just completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is regularly sharply 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 broadly social democrat and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the normal position in much of the world.”

Controversies and Backlash

One of the dangers of Piker’s type of relaxed, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which provides 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 broader critique, he made a comment about a national tragedy that was amplified by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was ill-chosen.

Likewise, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain state policies have led to accusations of prejudice, which he strongly rejects. He has also been mocked for expressing admiration for another major global power, after a trip there.

“I have no issues 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 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 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 jumped to the conclusion that Piker was harming the animal, igniting 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 edited from his live stream and disseminated with his response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said.

The Divide Between Digital and Real Worlds

This illustrates the difference between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world without coming across as unhinged 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 feels less safe. The fatal shooting of a conservative commentator was a shocking example of where this online hate can lead. 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 dictate 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 Staying Grounded

Having been prescient about the last election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite quickly, but if you look at the areas 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 “left flank”.

“We have to embrace that, because I feel like it’s a matter of life or death at this point,” he adds. “So I will do everything in my power to try and avoid a dark alternative.”

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

And on top of that, he clearly enjoys it: “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 awaits, and he’s eager to get started.