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

Hasan Piker calls it an everyday benchmark: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have a brief moment to clarify any online drama took place to the bus driver without them looking at you and saying, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online conversation, no matter how intense, does not pass the test, he contends – not least an incident last weekend, when a person on a Dublin street requested to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; trying to explain the meaning of that specific event could easily take the rest 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 34-year-old was familiar only to the digitally immersed, particularly 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 become an in-demand voice in “traditional media” for his perspectives on the struggling political left, and specifically that constantly discussed demographic, young men.

A Prime Target for the Right

Predictably, this also makes Piker a favorite target of the political right. To his c critics there is plenty to criticize: his direct political views; his cultural background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – does not fit typical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid his appearance in shirtless magazine spreads or social media posts.

“To be frank, I had no idea that this is what I was going to be doing,” says 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 early and he’s preparing to start his daily late morning show. He typically broadcasts live for seven to eight hours consecutively, 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.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Twitch

Building himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for streaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker explains. 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 decided to go solo on Twitch, to counterbalance what he saw as overwhelmingly rightwing, and often toxic views that permeated the space.

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

The Problem with the American Left

This is the core issue 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 abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is consistently sharply critical of recent administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is no loyal member of the major center-left party. His own politics are generally social democratic and “compassion-driven”, he clarifies. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in most of the world.”

Controversies and Criticism

One of the risks of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his opponents fodder. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple 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 conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the language was ill-chosen.

Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and condemnation of certain government actions have led to accusations of bias, which he strongly rejects. He has also been ridiculed for expressing admiration 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.”

Offline Repercussions

The hate constantly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by US border agents on his return 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 hostility 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 swiftly concluded that Piker was harming the animal, igniting a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a major animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the ambush by a random 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 shocked,” he said.

The Divide Between Online and Real Worlds

This illustrates the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very hard to maintain a very negative energy in the real world and not coming across as unhinged and odd. Interactions on the internet foster this environment where you can be as hostile as you want.”

That Dublin encounter was fairly low stakes. In the US, he feels 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 continues to 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. Toxic one-sided fan dynamics come with the territory, he accepts.

The Future and Staying Grounded

Having been accurate about the last election, how does Piker view the next few years? “Things change 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 points to the progressive “left flank”.

“We have to lean into that, because I feel like it’s a matter of critical importance at this point,” he adds. “So I will do everything in my power to try and avoid a dark alternative.”

The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it doesn’t sound as if Piker is interested in mainstream political office. He makes periodic 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 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 lengthy live stream awaits, and he’s eager to get started.