From Online Commentator to Ideological Lightning Rod: The Ascent of Hasan Piker

Hasan Piker calls it a simple litmus test: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have a brief moment to describe whatever online phenomena unfolded to the bus driver without them looking at you and saying, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” Most online discourse, no matter how fiery, fails the test, he says – including a strange event last weekend, when a person on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; attempting to explain the meaning of that specific event might well take the remainder of this article.

Occupying the Blurred Zone

Piker increasingly exists in this gray area increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was familiar only to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their 20s and 30s, largely thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an sought-after voice in “offline circles” for his views on the struggling political left, and especially that inordinately discussed demographic, young men.

A Favorite Target for the Right

Predictably, this also positions Piker a favorite hate figure of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot to dislike: his outspoken political views; 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 stereotypical lefty stereotypes. He has leveraged his physique 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 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 11am show. He typically broadcasts live for seven or eight hours straight, talking off the cuff about the news, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and responding to the never-ending stream of messages from viewers.

From The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Building himself on Twitch, which is 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 graduated to 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 heavily dominated by the right,” he notes.

The Problem 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 simply completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is consistently sharply critical of recent administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal member of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democratic and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in much of the world.”

Firestorms and Criticism

One of the risks of Piker’s type of relaxed, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his opponents ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple times for perceived offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the context 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.

Likewise, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinians and condemnation of certain state policies have led to allegations of bias, 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 attacked by people on the right. I love when my enemies hate me,” he says. “It is what it is.”

Real-World Repercussions

The hate constantly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by US border agents on his return from travel abroad. They questioned him about his political opinions before releasing him. “I think they did it because they know 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, yelped suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a online 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 took that encounter in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was clipped from his live stream and shared with his response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” 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 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 relatively low stakes. In the US, he feels less safe. The assassination of a right-wing commentator was a harrowing example of where this online hate can end up. Piker watched the event develop in real time on his stream.

Piker continues to 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. Toxic one-sided fan dynamics come with the territory, he accepts.

Looking Ahead and Finding Balance

Having been prescient about a recent election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite quickly, 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 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 arguably do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is interested in mainstream political office. He makes occasional media appearances, but he’s not drawn further into legacy media, he says. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from traditional publishers.”

And 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 marathon live stream is about to begin, and he’s eager to get started.