‘I adore when my foes despise me’: the way Hasan Piker rose to become one of the biggest voices on the American left

Hasan Piker refers to it an everyday benchmark: “You get on a bus and you have a brief moment to clarify whatever online phenomena unfolded to the bus driver before them turning to you and saying, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online conversation, no matter how heated, fails the test, he argues – including an incident last weekend, when someone 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 meaning of that specific event might well take the rest of this article.

Occupying the In-Between Space

Piker finds himself in this in-between space more and more these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was familiar primarily to the very online, especially Americans in their twenties and thirties, mostly thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But since the last presidential election, Piker has become an sought-after voice in “offline circles” for his perspectives 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 favorite villain of the political right. To his c critics there is a lot to criticize: his blunt political views; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – does not fit stereotypical lefty caricatures. He has leveraged his appearance in revealing magazine spreads or social media posts.

“I’ll be honest, I had no idea 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 early and he’s getting ready to start his daily 11am show. He usually streams live for seven or eight hours straight, talking unscripted about the news, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and interacting with the constant stream of comments from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Building himself on Twitch, which is primarily for streaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker says. 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 counterbalance what he saw as overwhelmingly rightwing, and often divisive views that permeated the space.

“You can find ideological diversity amongst the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, 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 problem with the American left in general, says Piker: they’ve conceded so many battlegrounds to the right. “You absolutely have to promote your ideas … but they simply completely gave up on 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 major center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democratic and “compassion-driven”, he explains. “My position is actually the standard position in most of the world.”

Firestorms and Backlash

One of the risks of Piker’s style of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his critics ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch multiple times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the context of a wider critique, he made a comment about a national tragedy that was seized upon by right-wing media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was ill-chosen.

Likewise, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinians and criticism 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 problem getting attacked by people on the right. I love when my enemies hate me,” he states. “It is what it is.”

Offline Consequences

The vitriol constantly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by American border agents on his return from a trip. They interrogated him about his views 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, yelped suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating 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 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 response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said.

The Divide Between Digital and Offline Worlds

This highlights the difference 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 hysterical and odd. Interactions on the internet create 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 harrowing example of where this online hate can end up. 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 dictate my life. I’ve gotten death threats for over a decade,” he says. Unhealthy one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he acknowledges.

Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded

Having been prescient about the last election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite quickly, but if you look at the avenues where there is some glimmer of hope, it’s the left 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 life or death at this point,” he adds. “So I will do anything 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 interested in mainstream political office. He makes periodic media guest spots, but he’s not drawn further into legacy media, he says. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from traditional 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 marathon live stream awaits, and he’s itching to get started.