From Digital Commentator to Ideological Figurehead: The Rise of Hasan Piker

Hasan Piker calls it an everyday benchmark: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have half a minute to explain whatever online drama took place to the bus driver without them turning to you and saying, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” Most online discourse, regardless of how fiery, does not pass 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; attempting to explain the significance of that specific event could easily take the remainder of this article.

Occupying the Blurred Zone

Piker finds himself in this in-between space more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was familiar only to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their twenties and thirties, largely thanks to his presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But since the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an sought-after voice in “offline circles” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and especially that inordinately discussed demographic, young men.

A Prime Target for the Right

Unsurprisingly, this also positions Piker a favorite villain of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot to criticize: his outspoken political views; his cultural background; his associations with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – does not fit typical lefty caricatures. He has leveraged his physique in revealing magazine spreads or social media posts.

“I’ll be honest, I had no clue that this is what I was going to be doing,” states Piker. “For instance, 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 early and he’s preparing to start his regular late morning show. He usually broadcasts live for seven or eight hours straight, talking off the cuff about the news, lifestyle stories, his personal life, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and responding to the constant stream of messages from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Establishing 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. Piker’s 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 chose to go solo on Twitch, to provide an alternative to what he saw as dominantly conservative, and often toxic views that infested the space.

“You can find ideological variety among the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political expression in this hobby 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 cultural spaces to the right. “You still have to market your ideas … but they simply completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is regularly sharply critical of recent administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal supporter of the major center-left party. His own politics are generally social democrat and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the standard position in much of the world.”

Firestorms and Backlash

One of the risks of Piker’s type of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides 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 wider critique, he made a comment about a historic attack that was seized upon by right-wing media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the language was ill-chosen.

Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and criticism of certain government actions have led to accusations 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 attacked by people on the right. I love when my enemies hate me,” he states. “It is what it is.”

Real-World Repercussions

The vitriol increasingly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by American 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 are aware of who I am,” he said.

These levels of hostility help explain the “Free Kaya!” incident in Dublin. It started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, yelped suddenly. Online detractors jumped to the conclusion that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a major animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the ambush 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 Divide Between Digital and Real Worlds

This highlights the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very hard to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world without 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 fairly low stakes. In the US, he feels less safe. The assassination of a conservative commentator served as a harrowing example of where this online hate can lead. 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 over a decade,” he says. Toxic parasocial relationships come with the territory, he accepts.

Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded

Having been prescient about a recent election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “Things change quite quickly, but if you look at the avenues where there is some glimmer of hope, it’s the left candidates that are actually truly galvanising the public,” he says. He references 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 continues. “So I will do anything in my power to try and prevent a dark alternative.”

The American left could arguably do with someone like Piker. But it doesn’t sound as if Piker is interested in traditional political office. He makes periodic media guest spots, but he’s not tempted further into legacy 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 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.