From Online Streamer to Ideological Lightning Rod: The Rise of Hasan Piker

Hasan Piker calls it a simple litmus test: “You get on a bus and you have a brief moment to clarify whatever online event occurred to the bus driver before them turning to you and saying, ‘Get off the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online discourse, no matter how heated, does not pass the test, he says – not least an incident last weekend, when someone on a Dublin street requested 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 significance of this particular event might well take the rest of this article.

Occupying the In-Between Space

Piker operates in this gray area increasingly these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was known only to the digitally immersed, particularly Americans in their twenties and thirties, largely thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “the real world” for his analysis on the struggling political left, and specifically that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Favorite Hate Figure for the Right

Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a favorite villain of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot to criticize: his direct political views; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances with progressive politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – defies typical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid his appearance 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,” 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 typically streams live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking improvised about the news, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and responding to the never-ending stream of messages from viewers.

From The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Establishing himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for streaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker explains. His media career started out with The Young Turks, the progressive 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 rightwing, and often toxic views that permeated the space.

“You can find ideological variety among the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political commentary in this hobby is so heavily dominated by the right,” he notes.

The Challenge with the American Left

This is the fundamental issue with the American left in broad terms, argues Piker: they’ve ceded so many arenas to the right. “You still have to promote your ideas … but they just completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is consistently critical of recent administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal member of the major center-left party. His own politics are generally social democrat and “compassion-driven”, he explains. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in most of the world.”

Firestorms and Criticism

One of the dangers of Piker’s style of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which provides his opponents ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch several times for perceived offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the context of a broader critique, he made a comment about a national tragedy that was amplified by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the language was inappropriate.

Likewise, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain government actions 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 attacked by people on the right. I love when my enemies hate me,” he says. “It is what it is.”

Real-World Repercussions

The hate increasingly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by American border agents on his return from travel abroad. They questioned him about his views before letting him go. “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 conspiracy theorists swiftly concluded that Piker was harming the animal, igniting a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a major animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the ambush by a random in Dublin.

Piker took that encounter in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was edited from his live stream and disseminated with his response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said.

The Difference Between Digital and Real Worlds

This highlights the difference between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very hard to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world and not coming across as unhinged and odd. Interactions on the internet create this environment where you can be as aggressive as you want.”

That Dublin encounter was relatively low stakes. In the US, he feels less safe. The assassination of a right-wing commentator served as 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. Toxic parasocial relationships come with the territory, he acknowledges.

Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded

Having been accurate 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 critical importance at this point,” he continues. “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 mainstream political office. He makes periodic 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.”

But on top of that, he clearly finds it fulfilling: “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 is about to begin, and he’s itching to get started.