🔗 Share this article ‘I love when my foes despise me’: how Hasan Piker rose to become among the biggest personalities on the American political left Hasan Piker dubs it a simple litmus test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have 30 seconds to describe any online event unfolded to the bus driver before them turning to you and saying, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” Most online conversation, no matter how intense, does not pass the test, he argues – 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!” Forget the bus driver; attempting to explain the meaning of that specific event might well take the remainder of this article. Navigating the Blurred Space Piker finds himself in this in-between space increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was known primarily to the very online, particularly Americans in their twenties and thirties, largely thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has become 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 Target for the Right Predictably, this also positions Piker a prime hate figure of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to criticize: his direct political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances 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 leveraged his appearance in revealing 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. “Like, 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 preparing to start his regular late morning show. He usually streams live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking improvised about current affairs, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the constant stream of messages from viewers. From The Young Turks to Solo Streaming Establishing himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for livestreaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker says. His media career started out 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 eventually hosted 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 divisive views that permeated the space. “You can find ideological variety amongst the gamers, among the developers, among the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political expression in this hobby is so overwhelmingly dominated by the right,” he notes. The Problem with the American Left This is the core problem with the American left in broad terms, says Piker: they’ve ceded so many cultural spaces to the right. “You absolutely have to promote your ideas … but they simply completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.” Piker is regularly critical of recent 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 generally social democrat and “compassion-driven”, he explains. “My viewpoint is actually the normal position in much of the world.” Firestorms and Criticism One of the dangers of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which provides his critics fodder. He has been suspended from Twitch several times for deemed offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the context of a wider critique, he made a comment about a national tragedy that was amplified by conservative media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the language was inappropriate. Likewise, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinians and condemnation of certain government actions have led to allegations of bias, which he strongly rejects. He has also been mocked for expressing praise for a different major global power, after a trip there. “I have no problem getting vilified by people on the right. I love when my enemies hate me,” he says. “It is what it is.” Real-World Consequences The vitriol constantly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by American border agents on his return from a trip. 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 detractors jumped to the conclusion that Piker was harming the animal, igniting a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the surprise encounter by a stranger in Dublin. Piker handled the situation 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 Real Worlds This highlights the difference between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very hard to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world and not coming across as unhinged and odd. Interactions on the internet create 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 shocking 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 dictate my life. I’ve gotten death threats for years,” he says. Unhealthy one-sided fan dynamics come with the territory, he accepts. Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded Having been prescient about a recent election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “Things change quite rapidly, but if you look at the avenues where there is some semblance of hope, it’s the left candidates that are actually truly galvanising the public,” he says. He points to the progressive “wing”. “We have to lean into that, because I feel like it’s a matter of critical importance at this point,” he continues. “So I will do anything in my power to try and prevent 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 periodic media appearances, but he’s not drawn further into legacy media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.” But on top of that, he clearly 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 eager to get started.
Hasan Piker dubs it a simple litmus test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have 30 seconds to describe any online event unfolded to the bus driver before them turning to you and saying, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” Most online conversation, no matter how intense, does not pass the test, he argues – 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!” Forget the bus driver; attempting to explain the meaning of that specific event might well take the remainder of this article. Navigating the Blurred Space Piker finds himself in this in-between space increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was known primarily to the very online, particularly Americans in their twenties and thirties, largely thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has become 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 Target for the Right Predictably, this also positions Piker a prime hate figure of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to criticize: his direct political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances 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 leveraged his appearance in revealing 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. “Like, 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 preparing to start his regular late morning show. He usually streams live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking improvised about current affairs, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the constant stream of messages from viewers. From The Young Turks to Solo Streaming Establishing himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for livestreaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker says. His media career started out 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 eventually hosted 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 divisive views that permeated the space. “You can find ideological variety amongst the gamers, among the developers, among the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political expression in this hobby is so overwhelmingly dominated by the right,” he notes. The Problem with the American Left This is the core problem with the American left in broad terms, says Piker: they’ve ceded so many cultural spaces to the right. “You absolutely have to promote your ideas … but they simply completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.” Piker is regularly critical of recent 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 generally social democrat and “compassion-driven”, he explains. “My viewpoint is actually the normal position in much of the world.” Firestorms and Criticism One of the dangers of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which provides his critics fodder. He has been suspended from Twitch several times for deemed offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the context of a wider critique, he made a comment about a national tragedy that was amplified by conservative media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the language was inappropriate. Likewise, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinians and condemnation of certain government actions have led to allegations of bias, which he strongly rejects. He has also been mocked for expressing praise for a different major global power, after a trip there. “I have no problem getting vilified by people on the right. I love when my enemies hate me,” he says. “It is what it is.” Real-World Consequences The vitriol constantly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by American border agents on his return from a trip. 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 detractors jumped to the conclusion that Piker was harming the animal, igniting a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the surprise encounter by a stranger in Dublin. Piker handled the situation 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 Real Worlds This highlights the difference between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very hard to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world and not coming across as unhinged and odd. Interactions on the internet create 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 shocking 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 dictate my life. I’ve gotten death threats for years,” he says. Unhealthy one-sided fan dynamics come with the territory, he accepts. Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded Having been prescient about a recent election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “Things change quite rapidly, but if you look at the avenues where there is some semblance of hope, it’s the left candidates that are actually truly galvanising the public,” he says. He points to the progressive “wing”. “We have to lean into that, because I feel like it’s a matter of critical importance at this point,” he continues. “So I will do anything in my power to try and prevent 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 periodic media appearances, but he’s not drawn further into legacy media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.” But on top of that, he clearly 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 eager to get started.