🔗 Share this article ‘I adore when my enemies loathe me’: how Hasan Piker became a leading the most prominent voices on the American left Hasan Piker refers to it an everyday benchmark: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have a brief moment to explain whatever online drama occurred to the bus driver before them turning to you and saying, ‘Get off the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online debate, no matter how fiery, does not pass the test, he argues – including an incident recently, when someone 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 significance of this particular event might well take the rest of this article. Navigating the In-Between Zone Piker increasingly exists in this liminal zone increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was known only to the very online, particularly Americans in their twenties and thirties, mostly thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But since the last presidential election, Piker has become an sought-after voice in “the real world” for his perspectives on the struggling political left, and especially that constantly discussed demographic, young men. A Favorite Hate Figure for the Political Right Predictably, this also makes Piker a prime hate figure of the political right. To his enemies there is plenty to criticize: his blunt political stances; his cultural background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – defies typical lefty stereotypes. He has leveraged his appearance in shirtless magazine spreads or social media posts. “I’ll be honest, I had no clue 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 getting ready to start his regular 11am show. He usually streams live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking off the cuff about the news, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the constant 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 deliberate 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 was raised 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 conservative, and often toxic views that infested the space. “There’s a lot of ideological variety among the gamers, amongst the developers, among 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 fundamental problem with the American left in broad terms, argues Piker: they’ve ceded so many battlegrounds to the right. “You still have to market your ideas … but they just 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 supporter of the major center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “compassion-driven”, he clarifies. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in most of the world.” Firestorms and Backlash One of the risks of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which provides his critics ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch several times for perceived offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the framework 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. Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and criticism of certain state policies have led to allegations of bias, which he denies. He has also been mocked for expressing admiration for another 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 says. “It is what it is.” Offline Repercussions The hate increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by American 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 hostility help explain the “Free Kaya!” incident in Dublin. It started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, yelped suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists jumped to the conclusion that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a online 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 response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said. The Difference Between Digital and Real 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 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 relatively low stakes. In the US, he feels less safe. The fatal shooting of a conservative 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 parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he accepts. Looking Ahead and Finding Balance Having been accurate about the last election, how does Piker feel 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 embrace 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 avoid a worse alternative.” The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is tempted in traditional political office. He makes periodic media guest spots, but he’s not tempted further into legacy media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.” And on top of that, he clearly finds it fulfilling: “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 itching to get started.
Hasan Piker refers to it an everyday benchmark: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have a brief moment to explain whatever online drama occurred to the bus driver before them turning to you and saying, ‘Get off the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online debate, no matter how fiery, does not pass the test, he argues – including an incident recently, when someone 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 significance of this particular event might well take the rest of this article. Navigating the In-Between Zone Piker increasingly exists in this liminal zone increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was known only to the very online, particularly Americans in their twenties and thirties, mostly thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But since the last presidential election, Piker has become an sought-after voice in “the real world” for his perspectives on the struggling political left, and especially that constantly discussed demographic, young men. A Favorite Hate Figure for the Political Right Predictably, this also makes Piker a prime hate figure of the political right. To his enemies there is plenty to criticize: his blunt political stances; his cultural background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – defies typical lefty stereotypes. He has leveraged his appearance in shirtless magazine spreads or social media posts. “I’ll be honest, I had no clue 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 getting ready to start his regular 11am show. He usually streams live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking off the cuff about the news, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the constant 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 deliberate 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 was raised 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 conservative, and often toxic views that infested the space. “There’s a lot of ideological variety among the gamers, amongst the developers, among 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 fundamental problem with the American left in broad terms, argues Piker: they’ve ceded so many battlegrounds to the right. “You still have to market your ideas … but they just 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 supporter of the major center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “compassion-driven”, he clarifies. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in most of the world.” Firestorms and Backlash One of the risks of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which provides his critics ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch several times for perceived offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the framework 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. Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and criticism of certain state policies have led to allegations of bias, which he denies. He has also been mocked for expressing admiration for another 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 says. “It is what it is.” Offline Repercussions The hate increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by American 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 hostility help explain the “Free Kaya!” incident in Dublin. It started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, yelped suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists jumped to the conclusion that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a online 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 response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said. The Difference Between Digital and Real 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 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 relatively low stakes. In the US, he feels less safe. The fatal shooting of a conservative 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 parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he accepts. Looking Ahead and Finding Balance Having been accurate about the last election, how does Piker feel 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 embrace 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 avoid a worse alternative.” The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is tempted in traditional political office. He makes periodic media guest spots, but he’s not tempted further into legacy media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.” And on top of that, he clearly finds it fulfilling: “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 itching to get started.