From Online Commentator to Political Figurehead: The Ascent of Hasan Piker

Hasan Piker calls it a simple litmus test: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have 30 seconds to describe whatever online event unfolded to the bus driver before them looking at you and going, ‘Get off the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online debate, regardless of how intense, fails the test, he contends – including a strange event recently, when someone on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; trying to explain the importance of that specific event might well take the rest of this article.

Existing in the In-Between Zone

Piker finds himself in this liminal zone more and more these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was familiar primarily to the digitally immersed, particularly Americans in their twenties and thirties, largely thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an sought-after voice in “offline circles” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Prime Hate Figure for the Political Right

Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a prime hate figure of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot to dislike: his blunt political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – defies typical lefty stereotypes. He has leveraged his physique in revealing magazine photoshoots or social media posts.

“I’ll be honest, I had no clue that this is what I was going to be doing,” states Piker. “Like, 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 11am show. He typically streams live for seven or eight hours straight, talking improvised about the news, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending stream of messages from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Twitch

Establishing himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for streaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker says. His media career began 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 graduated to 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, 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 Problem with the American Left

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

Piker is consistently critical of past administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is no loyal supporter of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are generally social democratic and “compassion-driven”, he clarifies. “My viewpoint is actually the normal position in most of the world.”

Firestorms and Backlash

One of the dangers of Piker’s style 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 deemed offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the context of a wider critique, he made a statement about a historic attack that was seized upon by right-wing media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the language was ill-chosen.

Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and criticism of certain government actions have led to allegations of prejudice, 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 love when my enemies hate me,” he says. “It is what it is.”

Real-World Repercussions

The vitriol constantly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by US border agents on his return from a trip. They interrogated him about his political opinions before releasing him. “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 started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, yelped suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the surprise encounter by a random 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 Online and Real Worlds

This highlights the difference between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very difficult 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 feels less safe. The fatal shooting of a right-wing 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. Unhealthy one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he accepts.

The Future and Finding Balance

Having been prescient 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 semblance of hope, it’s the progressive candidates that are actually really galvanising the public,” he says. He references 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 everything in my power to try and prevent a dark alternative.”

The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it doesn’t sound as if Piker is tempted in mainstream political office. He makes occasional media appearances, but he’s not drawn further into traditional media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.”

But on top of that, he clearly 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.