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

Hasan Piker dubs it an everyday benchmark: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have 30 seconds to describe whatever online event occurred to the bus driver without them looking at you and going, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online discourse, regardless of how intense, fails the test, he contends – including an incident recently, when someone on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and yelled “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 Blurred Zone

Piker increasingly exists in this in-between space more and more these days. Until fairly recently, the 34-year-old was known only to the very online, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, largely thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has become an in-demand voice in “traditional media” for his views on the struggling political left, and specifically that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Favorite Hate Figure for the Right

Unsurprisingly, this also positions Piker a favorite target of the political right. To his enemies there is plenty to criticize: his direct political views; his cultural background; his allegiances with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – defies typical lefty caricatures. He has leveraged his physique in shirtless 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 the morning and he’s getting ready to start his daily late morning show. He usually broadcasts live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking off the cuff about the news, pop culture, what he’s up to, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and responding to the constant stream of messages from viewers.

From The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Establishing himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for livestreaming video games, was a deliberate 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 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 chose to go solo on Twitch, to provide an alternative to what he saw as dominantly conservative, and often divisive views that infested the space.

“You can find ideological diversity among the gamers, among the developers, among the consumers, but sadly, 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 problem with the American left in broad terms, says Piker: they’ve conceded so many cultural spaces to the right. “You absolutely have to market 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 no loyal supporter of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are generally social democrat and “compassion-driven”, he clarifies. “My viewpoint is actually the normal position in much of the world.”

Controversies and Criticism

One of the risks of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives his critics fodder. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch several times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the context of a broader critique, he made a statement about a national tragedy that was seized upon by right-wing media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the wording was inappropriate.

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

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

Offline Repercussions

The hate constantly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by American border agents on his re-entry from travel abroad. They interrogated him about his views before releasing him. “I think they did it because they are aware of 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 detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was harming 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 stranger in Dublin.

Piker took that encounter in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was edited 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 explains: “It’s very hard to maintain a very negative energy in the real world and not coming across as unhinged and odd. Exchanges on the internet create this environment where you can be as aggressive as you want.”

That Dublin encounter was fairly low stakes. In the US, he feels less safe. The fatal shooting of a right-wing commentator was a harrowing 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 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 accepts.

Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded

Having been prescient about the last election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “Things change quite rapidly, 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 references the progressive “wing”.

“We have to lean into 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 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 traditional political office. He makes occasional 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.”

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 lengthy live stream awaits, and he’s eager to get started.