From Online Commentator to Ideological Figurehead: The Rise of Hasan Piker

Hasan Piker calls it a simple litmus test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have 30 seconds to clarify whatever online drama occurred to the bus driver without them looking at you and going, ‘Get off the fucking bus.’” Most online conversation, no matter how intense, does not pass the test, he contends – including a strange event recently, when a person on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; attempting to explain the importance of this particular event could easily take the remainder of this article.

Occupying the In-Between Space

Piker operates in this gray area increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was familiar primarily to the very online, especially Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an sought-after voice in “the real world” for his analysis on the struggling political left, and specifically that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Favorite Hate Figure for the Right

Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a prime hate figure of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to criticize: his outspoken political views; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – does not fit typical lefty caricatures. He has leveraged his physique in shirtless magazine spreads or social media posts.

“To be frank, I had no clue that this is what I was going to be doing,” states 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 daily 11am show. He usually broadcasts live for seven or eight hours consecutively, 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 constant stream of messages from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Twitch

Building himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for livestreaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker explains. His media career began with The Young Turks, the left-leaning online news network. Piker’s parents are Turkish immigrants, and he grew up between New Jersey and Istanbul before majoring in 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.

“You can find ideological variety among the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political expression in this hobby is so heavily dominated by the right,” he says.

The Challenge with the American Left

This is the core issue with the American left in general, argues Piker: they’ve ceded so many arenas to the right. “You still have to market your ideas … but they just completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is regularly critical of recent 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 generally social democratic and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the standard position in most of the world.”

Controversies and Backlash

One of the dangers of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes 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 broader critique, he made a comment about a historic attack that was seized upon by right-wing media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the language was ill-chosen.

Likewise, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinians and condemnation of certain state policies have led to allegations of prejudice, 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 attacked by people on the right. I love when my enemies hate me,” he states. “It is what it is.”

Real-World Repercussions

The vitriol increasingly 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 political opinions before letting him go. “I think they did it because they know 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, made a noise suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists jumped to the conclusion that Piker was harming the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the ambush 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 reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said.

The Difference Between Digital and Real Worlds

This highlights the difference between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very hostile 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 aggressive 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 was a harrowing 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 years,” he says. Toxic one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he accepts.

The Future and Finding Balance

Having been accurate 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 progressive candidates that are actually truly galvanising the public,” he says. He points to the progressive “left flank”.

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

The American left could arguably do with someone like Piker. But it doesn’t sound as if Piker is interested in traditional political office. He makes occasional media guest spots, but he’s not drawn further into traditional media, he says. “Viewers 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 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.