‘I adore when my adversaries despise me’: how Hasan Piker emerged as among the largest voices on the US left

Hasan Piker refers to it the bus driver test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have 30 seconds to clarify whatever online drama took place to the bus driver without them looking at you and saying, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online discourse, regardless of how heated, fails the test, he says – including an incident last weekend, when a person on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; trying to explain the importance of this particular event could easily take the rest of this article.

Occupying the In-Between Space

Piker increasingly exists in this gray area more and more these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was known primarily to the digitally immersed, particularly Americans in their twenties and thirties, mostly thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But following the last presidential election, Piker has become an in-demand voice in “traditional media” for his perspectives on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that inordinately discussed demographic, young men.

A Prime Target for the Right

Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a favorite villain of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot to dislike: his direct political views; his cultural background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – does not fit typical lefty stereotypes. He has not been afraid his physique 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,” 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 getting ready to start his regular late morning show. He typically broadcasts live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking improvised about current affairs, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending stream of messages from viewers.

From The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Building himself on Twitch, which is primarily for streaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker says. His media career began with The Young Turks, the progressive online news network. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he was raised between New Jersey and Istanbul before majoring in political science. He eventually hosted 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.

“You can find ideological variety amongst the gamers, amongst the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political expression in this arena is so overwhelmingly dominated by the right,” he says.

The Challenge with the American Left

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

Piker is regularly sharply critical of past administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is no loyal member of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democratic and “compassion-driven”, he clarifies. “My viewpoint is actually the normal position in much of the world.”

Controversies and Criticism

One of the dangers of Piker’s type of relaxed, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives his opponents fodder. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch several times for perceived offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the framework of a broader critique, he made a comment about a historic attack that was amplified by right-wing media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the language was ill-chosen.

Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and condemnation of certain state policies have led to allegations of prejudice, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing admiration 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 states. “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 views before letting him go. “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 originated from a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, made a noise suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists jumped to the conclusion that Piker was harming the animal, sparking a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a prominent animal rights organization issued 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 disseminated with his response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said.

The Difference Between Online and Offline 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 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 relatively low stakes. In the US, he admits to feeling 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 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 years,” he says. Unhealthy parasocial relationships 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 avenues where there is some glimmer of hope, it’s the progressive candidates that are actually really 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 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 doesn’t sound as if Piker is tempted 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 legacy publishers.”

And on top of that, he still 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.