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

Hasan Piker calls it the bus driver test: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have 30 seconds to describe whatever online drama took place to the bus driver without them looking at you and going, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” Most online debate, no matter how intense, does not pass the test, he says – not least a strange event last weekend, when someone on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; trying to explain the significance of that specific event could easily take the rest of this article.

Occupying the Gray Zone

Piker increasingly exists in this liminal zone increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the 34-year-old was known primarily to the digitally immersed, 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 in-demand voice in “the real world” for his perspectives on the struggling political left, and specifically that constantly discussed demographic, young men.

A Prime Hate Figure for the Political Right

Unsurprisingly, this also positions Piker a prime target of the political right. To his detractors there is a lot to criticize: his blunt political views; his cultural background; his allegiances with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – does not fit stereotypical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid his appearance in revealing 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 late morning show. He usually broadcasts live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking unscripted about current affairs, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and responding to the never-ending stream of messages from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Establishing himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for livestreaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker says. His media career began with The Young Turks, the left-leaning online news network. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he was raised between New Jersey and Istanbul before studying political science. He eventually hosted his own show on the network in 2016 but in 2018 he chose to go solo on Twitch, to counterbalance what he saw as dominantly conservative, and often divisive views that infested the space.

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

The Challenge with the American Left

This is the fundamental issue with the American left in broad terms, says Piker: they’ve ceded 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 past administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is no loyal member of the major center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “empathy-first”, he explains. “My position is actually the normal position in most of the world.”

Controversies and Backlash

One of the risks of Piker’s type of relaxed, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his critics ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch several times for deemed offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the framework of a wider critique, he made a statement about a historic attack that was amplified by right-wing media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was ill-chosen.

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

Real-World Consequences

The hate increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by American border agents on his re-entry from a trip. They questioned him about his views 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 originated from a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, yelped suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a prominent 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 edited from his live stream and shared with his response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said.

The Divide Between Digital and Real Worlds

This illustrates the difference between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “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 create 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 fatal shooting of a conservative commentator was a shocking example of where this online hate can end up. Piker watched the event unfold 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 over a decade,” he says. Unhealthy parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he accepts.

The Future and Staying Grounded

Having been accurate about a recent 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 truly 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 life or death at this point,” he continues. “So I will do everything in my power to try and avoid a dark alternative.”

The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is interested in traditional political office. He makes occasional media guest spots, but he’s not drawn further into legacy media, he says. “The audience 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 itching to get started.