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

Hasan Piker refers to it an everyday benchmark: “You get on a bus and you have a brief moment to clarify any online drama unfolded to the bus driver without them turning to you and going, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online debate, regardless of how intense, fails the test, he says – including an incident last weekend, 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 that specific event could easily take the remainder of this article.

Existing in the In-Between Zone

Piker operates in this gray area more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was familiar primarily to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their 20s and 30s, largely thanks to his presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But following 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 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 stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – does not fit stereotypical lefty stereotypes. He has not been afraid his physique in shirtless magazine photoshoots or social media posts.

“I’ll be honest, I had no clue that this is what I was going to be doing,” says Piker. “Like, 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 regular late morning show. He typically streams live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking off the cuff about current affairs, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending stream of messages from viewers.

From The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Building himself on Twitch, which is primarily for streaming 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 was raised 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 dominantly conservative, and often divisive views that permeated the space.

“You can find ideological variety 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 says.

The Challenge with the American Left

This is the core issue with the American left in broad terms, argues Piker: they’ve relinquished so many battlegrounds 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 regularly critical of recent administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal supporter of the major center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democratic and “empathy-first”, he explains. “My position is actually the standard position in much of the world.”

Firestorms and Backlash

One of the dangers of Piker’s style of relaxed, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his opponents ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch several times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the framework of a wider critique, he made a comment about a national tragedy that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was ill-chosen.

Likewise, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinians and criticism of certain government actions have led to allegations of bias, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing praise for another 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 states. “It is what it is.”

Offline Consequences

The vitriol increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by US border agents on his re-entry from a trip. 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 started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, made a noise suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a major animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the ambush by a stranger in Dublin.

Piker took that encounter 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 shocked,” he said.

The Divide Between Online and Offline Worlds

This illustrates the difference between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very hard to maintain a very negative 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 hostile as you want.”

That Dublin encounter was relatively low stakes. In the US, he feels less safe. The fatal shooting of a conservative commentator served as a shocking 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 years,” he says. Unhealthy one-sided fan dynamics come with the territory, he acknowledges.

Looking Ahead and Finding Balance

Having been prescient about a recent election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite quickly, but if you look at the areas where there is some glimmer 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 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 dark alternative.”

The American left could arguably 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 traditional media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from traditional publishers.”

But on top of that, he still enjoys it: “I find a lot of emotional fulfilment in what I do.” As he’s talking, he’s got one eye on the clock. Another marathon live stream is about to begin, and he’s itching to get started.