🔗 Share this article From Digital Streamer to Political Figurehead: The Ascent of Hasan Piker Hasan Piker refers to it a simple litmus test: “You get on a bus and you have half a minute to clarify whatever online event occurred to the bus driver before them turning to you and saying, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” Most online conversation, regardless of how heated, does not pass the test, he argues – including a strange event 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 significance of that specific event could easily take the rest of this article. Navigating the Blurred Zone Piker increasingly exists in this in-between space more and more these days. Until fairly recently, the 34-year-old was known only to the very online, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “offline circles” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and especially that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men. A Favorite Hate Figure for the Political Right Unsurprisingly, this also positions Piker a favorite target of the political right. To his enemies there is plenty to criticize: his direct political views; his cultural background; his associations with progressive politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – does not fit typical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid his physique in shirtless magazine photoshoots 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 the morning and he’s preparing to start his daily 11am show. He typically streams live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking unscripted about current affairs, lifestyle stories, his personal life, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and responding to the never-ending stream of comments from viewers. From The Young Turks to Solo Streaming Establishing himself on Twitch, which is primarily for livestreaming video games, was a conscious 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 grew up between New Jersey and Istanbul before studying political science. He eventually hosted 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 variety amongst the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political commentary in this hobby is so heavily dominated by the right,” he notes. The Challenge with the American Left This is the core issue with the American left in broad terms, argues Piker: they’ve conceded so many cultural spaces to the right. “You absolutely have to market your ideas … but they simply completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.” Piker is regularly sharply critical of recent administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is no loyal member of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are generally social democratic and “empathy-first”, he explains. “My viewpoint is actually the normal position in much of the world.” Controversies and Criticism One of the risks of Piker’s type of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his opponents ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch several times for deemed offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the framework of a wider critique, he made a statement about a national tragedy that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the wording was inappropriate. Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and condemnation of certain government actions have led to allegations of prejudice, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing praise for another major global power, after a trip there. “I have no issues getting vilified by people on the right. I love when my enemies hate me,” he states. “It is what it is.” Offline Consequences The vitriol increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by American border agents on his re-entry from a trip. They interrogated him about his political opinions 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 put out a statement. This led to the surprise encounter by a random in Dublin. Piker handled the situation 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 Divide Between Digital and Real Worlds This illustrates the difference between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very hard 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 aggressive as you want.” That Dublin encounter was fairly low stakes. In the US, he feels less safe. The assassination of a right-wing 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 continues to do real-life streams in the US. “I can’t let fear dictate my life. I’ve gotten death threats for years,” he says. Unhealthy parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he accepts. Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded Having been accurate about the last election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite rapidly, 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 references the progressive “left flank”. “We have to lean into that, because I feel like it’s a matter of life or death at this point,” he continues. “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 doesn’t sound 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 is about to begin, and he’s eager to get started.
Hasan Piker refers to it a simple litmus test: “You get on a bus and you have half a minute to clarify whatever online event occurred to the bus driver before them turning to you and saying, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” Most online conversation, regardless of how heated, does not pass the test, he argues – including a strange event 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 significance of that specific event could easily take the rest of this article. Navigating the Blurred Zone Piker increasingly exists in this in-between space more and more these days. Until fairly recently, the 34-year-old was known only to the very online, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “offline circles” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and especially that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men. A Favorite Hate Figure for the Political Right Unsurprisingly, this also positions Piker a favorite target of the political right. To his enemies there is plenty to criticize: his direct political views; his cultural background; his associations with progressive politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – does not fit typical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid his physique in shirtless magazine photoshoots 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 the morning and he’s preparing to start his daily 11am show. He typically streams live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking unscripted about current affairs, lifestyle stories, his personal life, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and responding to the never-ending stream of comments from viewers. From The Young Turks to Solo Streaming Establishing himself on Twitch, which is primarily for livestreaming video games, was a conscious 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 grew up between New Jersey and Istanbul before studying political science. He eventually hosted 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 variety amongst the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political commentary in this hobby is so heavily dominated by the right,” he notes. The Challenge with the American Left This is the core issue with the American left in broad terms, argues Piker: they’ve conceded so many cultural spaces to the right. “You absolutely have to market your ideas … but they simply completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.” Piker is regularly sharply critical of recent administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is no loyal member of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are generally social democratic and “empathy-first”, he explains. “My viewpoint is actually the normal position in much of the world.” Controversies and Criticism One of the risks of Piker’s type of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his opponents ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch several times for deemed offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the framework of a wider critique, he made a statement about a national tragedy that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the wording was inappropriate. Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and condemnation of certain government actions have led to allegations of prejudice, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing praise for another major global power, after a trip there. “I have no issues getting vilified by people on the right. I love when my enemies hate me,” he states. “It is what it is.” Offline Consequences The vitriol increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by American border agents on his re-entry from a trip. They interrogated him about his political opinions 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 put out a statement. This led to the surprise encounter by a random in Dublin. Piker handled the situation 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 Divide Between Digital and Real Worlds This illustrates the difference between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very hard 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 aggressive as you want.” That Dublin encounter was fairly low stakes. In the US, he feels less safe. The assassination of a right-wing 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 continues to do real-life streams in the US. “I can’t let fear dictate my life. I’ve gotten death threats for years,” he says. Unhealthy parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he accepts. Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded Having been accurate about the last election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite rapidly, 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 references the progressive “left flank”. “We have to lean into that, because I feel like it’s a matter of life or death at this point,” he continues. “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 doesn’t sound 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 is about to begin, and he’s eager to get started.