‘I love when my adversaries despise me’: how Hasan Piker became a leading the largest personalities on the US political left

Hasan Piker refers to it the bus driver test: “You get on a bus and you have 30 seconds to describe whatever online phenomena took place to the bus driver without them looking at you and saying, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” Most online discourse, no matter how intense, does not pass the test, he says – including an incident last weekend, when someone 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 meaning of that specific event could easily take the remainder of this article.

Existing in the In-Between Zone

Piker finds himself in this gray area more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the thirty-four-year-old was familiar primarily to the digitally immersed, particularly Americans in their twenties and thirties, largely thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into 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 Hate Figure for the Political Right

Unsurprisingly, this also positions Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his enemies 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 – physically imposing and charismatic – defies stereotypical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid his appearance 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 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 daily 11am show. He typically broadcasts live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking unscripted about current affairs, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, engaging with 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, which is 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. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he grew up 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 dominantly rightwing, and often toxic views that infested the space.

“There’s a lot of ideological diversity amongst the gamers, amongst the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political expression in this hobby 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 conceded so many cultural spaces 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 dominant center-left party. His own politics are generally social democratic and “compassion-driven”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the normal position in much of the world.”

Firestorms and Criticism

One of the risks of Piker’s style of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives his critics ammunition. He has been temporarily banned 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 inappropriate.

Similarly, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinian rights and condemnation of certain government actions have led to accusations of bias, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing admiration for another major global power, after a trip there.

“I have no issues getting attacked by people on the right. I relish when my enemies hate me,” he says. “It is what it is.”

Offline Repercussions

The vitriol constantly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by US border agents on his re-entry from travel abroad. 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 conspiracy theorists jumped to the conclusion that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a prominent animal rights organization issued 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 edited from his live stream and shared with his reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said.

The Difference Between Digital and Offline 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 without coming across as unhinged and odd. Interactions on the internet foster this environment where you can be as hostile as you want.”

That Dublin encounter was fairly low stakes. In the US, he feels less safe. The assassination 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 still do real-life streams in the US. “I can’t let fear dictate my life. I’ve gotten death threats for years,” he says. Unhealthy parasocial relationships come with the territory, he accepts.

The Future and Staying Grounded

Having been prescient about the last election, how does Piker view 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 really galvanising the public,” he says. He points to the progressive “left flank”.

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

The American left could arguably do with someone like Piker. But it doesn’t sound as if Piker is tempted in mainstream political office. He makes periodic 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 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 marathon live stream awaits, and he’s eager to get started.