‘I adore when my adversaries hate me’: how Hasan Piker rose to become one of the largest voices on the American left

Hasan Piker refers to it an everyday benchmark: “You get on a bus and you have 30 seconds to describe any online event unfolded to the bus driver before them turning to you and going, ‘Get off the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online conversation, regardless of how intense, does not pass the test, he says – 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 significance of that specific event might well take the remainder of this article.

Existing in the In-Between Zone

Piker operates in this gray area more and more these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was known primarily to the very online, especially Americans in their twenties and thirties, largely thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an sought-after voice in “traditional media” for his perspectives on the struggling political left, and especially that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Prime Target for the Right

Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his enemies there is plenty to criticize: his direct political views; his Turkish, Muslim 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 physique in revealing magazine spreads or social media posts.

“To be frank, 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 the morning and he’s getting ready to start his daily 11am show. He usually streams live for seven to eight hours straight, talking unscripted about the news, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending stream of comments from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Building himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for livestreaming video games, was a deliberate 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 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 provide an alternative to what he saw as dominantly rightwing, and often divisive views that infested the space.

“There’s a lot of ideological variety among the gamers, amongst the developers, among the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political commentary in this arena is so overwhelmingly dominated by the right,” he notes.

The Problem with the American Left

This is the fundamental issue with the American left in broad terms, says Piker: they’ve ceded so many cultural spaces to the right. “You still have to market your ideas … but they simply completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.”

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

Controversies and Backlash

One of the risks of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives his critics ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch several times for perceived offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the context of a broader 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 ill-chosen.

Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and criticism of certain government actions have led to accusations of bias, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing praise for a different major global power, after a trip there.

“I have no issues 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 questioned by US border agents on his return from travel abroad. They questioned him about his political opinions before letting him go. “I think they did it because they know 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 swiftly concluded that Piker was harming the animal, sparking 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 disseminated with his response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said.

The Difference Between Digital 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 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 admits to feeling less safe. The assassination of a conservative commentator was a harrowing example of where this online hate can lead. 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 acknowledges.

Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded

Having been prescient about a recent election, how does Piker view the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite rapidly, but if you look at the areas 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 embrace that, because I feel like it’s a matter of critical importance at this point,” he adds. “So I will do anything in my power to try and avoid a dark alternative.”

The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is interested in traditional political office. He makes periodic media guest spots, but he’s not drawn further into traditional media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from traditional publishers.”

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