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

Hasan Piker refers to it an everyday benchmark: “You get on a bus and you have a brief moment to clarify whatever online event occurred to the bus driver without them turning to you and going, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” Most online conversation, regardless of how intense, fails the test, he contends – not least an incident 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!” Never mind the bus driver; attempting to explain the importance of this particular event could easily take the remainder of this article.

Occupying the Blurred Zone

Piker increasingly exists in this gray area increasingly 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 presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an sought-after voice in “the real world” for his views on the beleaguered political left, and especially that constantly discussed demographic, young men.

A Favorite Hate Figure for the Political Right

Predictably, this also positions Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot to criticize: his blunt political views; his cultural background; his allegiances with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – does not fit typical lefty caricatures. He has leveraged his appearance in shirtless 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 early and he’s preparing to start his daily 11am show. He usually streams live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking off the cuff about current affairs, pop culture, what he’s up to, 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 Twitch

Building himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for streaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker explains. His media career started out with The Young Turks, the left-leaning online news network. Piker’s 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 decided to go solo on Twitch, to provide an alternative to what he saw as overwhelmingly rightwing, and often divisive views that infested the space.

“You can find ideological diversity among the gamers, among the developers, among the consumers, but sadly, the market for political commentary in this arena is so heavily dominated by the right,” he says.

The Problem with the American Left

This is the core issue with the American left in broad terms, argues Piker: they’ve ceded so many arenas to the right. “You still have to market your ideas … but they just completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is regularly 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 “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My viewpoint is actually the normal position in most of the world.”

Controversies and Criticism

One of the dangers of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives his critics ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch several times for deemed offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the context of a broader critique, he made a statement about a historic attack that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was ill-chosen.

Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain government actions have led to accusations of prejudice, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing praise for a different 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 constantly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by American border agents on his re-entry from travel abroad. They interrogated him about his political opinions before releasing him. “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, yelped suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “collargate.” 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 shared with his reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said.

The Difference Between Online and Real 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 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 feels 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 over a decade,” he says. Unhealthy one-sided fan dynamics come with the territory, he acknowledges.

Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded

Having been accurate 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 glimmer 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 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 prevent a dark alternative.”

The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it doesn’t sound as if Piker is interested in traditional political office. He makes occasional media guest spots, but he’s not drawn further into legacy media, he says. “Viewers 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 awaits, and he’s itching to get started.