From Online Streamer to Ideological Figurehead: The Ascent of Hasan Piker

Hasan Piker calls it an everyday benchmark: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have half a minute to describe whatever online drama occurred to the bus driver without them looking at you and saying, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online conversation, regardless of how fiery, does not pass the test, he argues – including 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 shouted “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; trying to explain the importance of that specific event might well take the remainder of this article.

Occupying the In-Between Zone

Piker finds himself in this liminal zone increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was known primarily to the very online, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, largely thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has become an sought-after voice in “the real world” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and especially that inordinately discussed demographic, young men.

A Favorite Target for the Political Right

Predictably, this also positions Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot to criticize: his outspoken political views; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – defies typical lefty stereotypes. He has leveraged his physique in shirtless magazine photoshoots 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 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 late morning show. He typically streams live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking off the cuff about the news, pop culture, his personal life, 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 Solo Streaming

Establishing himself on Twitch, which is primarily for streaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker explains. His media career began with The Young Turks, the progressive online news network. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he was raised between New Jersey and Istanbul before studying political science. He graduated to 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 overwhelmingly conservative, and often toxic views that infested the space.

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

The Challenge with the American Left

This is the fundamental problem with the American left in general, says Piker: they’ve relinquished so many arenas to the right. “You absolutely have to promote 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 supporter of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are generally social democratic and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My viewpoint is actually the normal position in much of the world.”

Firestorms and Backlash

One of the dangers of Piker’s style of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which provides his critics ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch multiple times for perceived offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the context of a broader critique, he made a statement about a historic attack that was amplified by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the language was inappropriate.

Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and condemnation of certain government actions have led to allegations of prejudice, which he strongly rejects. He has also been mocked 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 love when my enemies hate me,” he states. “It is what it is.”

Real-World Consequences

The vitriol increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by US border agents on his re-entry from a trip. 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 originated from a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, made a noise suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, sparking a online controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a major animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the surprise encounter by a stranger in Dublin.

Piker handled the situation in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was clipped from his live stream and disseminated with his response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said.

The Divide Between Digital and Offline Worlds

This highlights the chasm 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 relatively low stakes. In the US, he feels less safe. The assassination of a right-wing commentator was a shocking example of where this online hate can lead. Piker watched the event develop in real time on his stream.

Piker still do real-life streams in the US. “I can’t let fear guide my life. I’ve gotten death threats for years,” he says. Unhealthy one-sided fan dynamics come with the territory, he acknowledges.

The Future and Staying Grounded

Having been accurate about the last election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “Things change quite rapidly, but if you look at the avenues where there is some glimmer of hope, it’s the left candidates that are actually truly galvanising the public,” he says. He references the progressive “wing”.

“We have to embrace that, because I feel like it’s a matter of life or death at this point,” he continues. “So I will do everything in my power to try and prevent a worse alternative.”

The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it doesn’t sound as if Piker is tempted in traditional political office. He makes periodic media guest spots, but he’s not tempted further into traditional media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from legacy 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 lengthy live stream is about to begin, and he’s eager to get started.