‘I adore when my foes despise me’: how Hasan Piker rose to become among the largest figures on the American left

Hasan Piker refers to it the bus driver test: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have 30 seconds to explain any online drama took place to the bus driver before them looking at you and saying, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online debate, no matter how intense, fails the test, he contends – not least a strange event last weekend, when someone 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 that specific event could easily take the remainder of this article.

Existing in the In-Between Zone

Piker finds himself in this in-between space more and more these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was familiar only to the very online, particularly Americans in their twenties and thirties, largely thanks to his presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But following the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “traditional media” for his views on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Favorite Hate Figure for the Right

Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his c critics there is plenty to dislike: his outspoken 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 stereotypical lefty stereotypes. He has leveraged his physique in revealing magazine spreads or social media posts.

“To be frank, I had no idea 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 the morning and he’s getting ready to start his regular late morning show. He usually streams live for seven or eight hours straight, talking improvised about current affairs, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending stream of messages from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Twitch

Building himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for livestreaming 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 was raised 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 counterbalance what he saw as dominantly rightwing, and often toxic views that infested the space.

“There’s a lot of ideological diversity among the gamers, amongst the developers, among the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political commentary in this arena is so overwhelmingly dominated by the right,” he notes.

The Challenge with the American Left

This is the core problem with the American left in general, argues Piker: they’ve conceded so many cultural spaces to the right. “You still have to promote your ideas … but they simply completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is consistently sharply critical of past administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal supporter of the major center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democratic and “compassion-driven”, he clarifies. “My viewpoint is actually the normal position in most of the world.”

Controversies and Criticism

One of the dangers of Piker’s style of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his critics ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the framework of a broader critique, he made a statement about a historic attack that was amplified by right-wing media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the wording was ill-chosen.

Similarly, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain government actions have led to allegations of bias, which he strongly rejects. He has also been mocked for expressing praise for another major global power, after a trip there.

“I have no issues getting vilified by people on the right. I relish when my enemies hate me,” he states. “It is what it is.”

Offline Consequences

The vitriol constantly risks 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 views before releasing him. “I think they did it because they are aware of 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 harming the animal, sparking a online controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a prominent animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the ambush by a stranger in Dublin.

Piker took that encounter in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was edited 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 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 hysterical and odd. Interactions on the internet foster this environment where you can be as hostile as you want.”

That Dublin encounter was relatively low stakes. In the US, he admits to feeling less safe. The fatal shooting of a conservative commentator served as 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 one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he acknowledges.

Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded

Having been prescient about the last election, how does Piker view 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 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 anything 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 mainstream political office. He makes occasional media guest spots, but he’s not tempted further into legacy media, he says. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from legacy 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 is about to begin, and he’s itching to get started.