‘I adore when my foes despise me’: how Hasan Piker became among the most prominent voices on the American political left

Hasan Piker calls it the bus driver test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have half a minute to describe any online drama occurred to the bus driver without them turning to you and going, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online conversation, no matter how heated, fails the test, he argues – not least a strange event 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; attempting to explain the meaning of that specific event might well take the rest of this article.

Occupying the Blurred Space

Piker operates in this in-between space increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the 34-year-old was familiar only to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their twenties and thirties, mostly thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “traditional media” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and especially that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Favorite Hate Figure for the Right

Predictably, this also positions Piker a favorite hate figure of the political right. To his detractors there is a lot to criticize: his blunt political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances with left-wing politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – does not fit typical lefty stereotypes. He has not been afraid his appearance in shirtless magazine photoshoots or social media posts.

“I’ll be honest, 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 the morning and he’s getting ready to start his regular late morning show. He typically streams live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking improvised about the news, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and responding to the constant stream of messages from viewers.

From The Young Turks to Twitch

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 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 overwhelmingly rightwing, and often divisive views that infested the space.

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

The Challenge with the American Left

This is the fundamental issue with the American left in broad terms, says Piker: they’ve conceded so many battlegrounds to the right. “You still have to promote your ideas … but they just completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is consistently sharply critical of past administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal supporter of the major center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democratic and “empathy-first”, he explains. “My position is actually the normal position in much of the world.”

Firestorms and Backlash

One of the dangers of Piker’s style of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his opponents ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch several 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 right-wing media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was ill-chosen.

Likewise, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinians and criticism of certain government actions have led to allegations of bias, which he strongly rejects. He has also been ridiculed 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 relish when my enemies hate me,” he states. “It is what it is.”

Offline Repercussions

The hate increasingly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by US border agents on his re-entry 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, yelped suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists jumped to the conclusion that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a major animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the ambush by a random in Dublin.

Piker handled the situation in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was clipped 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 difference between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very hard to maintain a very negative energy in the real world without coming across as hysterical and odd. Exchanges 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 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 continues to do real-life streams in the US. “I can’t let fear guide my life. I’ve gotten death threats for years,” he says. Toxic parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he accepts.

The Future and Staying Grounded

Having been prescient about a recent election, how does Piker view the next few years? “Things change quite quickly, but if you look at the areas where there is some semblance of hope, it’s the progressive 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 adds. “So I will do everything in my power to try and avoid a worse alternative.”

The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is tempted in mainstream 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 traditional publishers.”

But on top of that, he still finds it fulfilling: “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 itching to get started.