From Online Commentator to Ideological Figurehead: The Ascent of Hasan Piker

Hasan Piker dubs it an everyday benchmark: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have 30 seconds to describe whatever online drama unfolded to the bus driver without them looking at you and going, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” Most online debate, regardless of how fiery, does not pass the test, he says – including an incident 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!” Forget the bus driver; trying to explain the importance of this particular event could easily take the remainder of this article.

Navigating the Blurred Space

Piker increasingly exists in this liminal zone increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was familiar only to the very online, especially Americans in their twenties and thirties, mostly thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “offline circles” for his analysis on the struggling political left, and specifically that inordinately discussed demographic, young men.

A Prime Target for the Right

Predictably, this also makes Piker a prime hate figure of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to dislike: his outspoken political views; his cultural background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – does not fit typical lefty stereotypes. He has leveraged his appearance in revealing magazine spreads 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 the morning and he’s getting ready to start his regular 11am show. He typically broadcasts live for seven or eight hours straight, talking off the cuff about the news, pop culture, what he’s up to, playing video games, reacting to 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, which is primarily for livestreaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker says. His media career started out with The Young Turks, the progressive 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 counterbalance what he saw as dominantly conservative, and often toxic views that permeated the space.

“You can find ideological variety among the gamers, among 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 Problem with the American Left

This is the fundamental problem with the American left in general, 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 no loyal supporter of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “empathy-first”, he explains. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in most of the world.”

Firestorms and Criticism

One of the risks of Piker’s type of informal, 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 national tragedy that was amplified by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the language was inappropriate.

Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain state policies have led to accusations of bias, which he denies. He has also been mocked for expressing admiration for a different 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 says. “It is what it is.”

Real-World Repercussions

The vitriol constantly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by American border agents on his re-entry from travel abroad. They questioned him about his political opinions 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, made a noise suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists jumped to the conclusion that Piker was harming the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a major 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 clipped from his live stream and disseminated with his response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said.

The Difference Between Digital and Offline Worlds

This illustrates the difference between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “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 fatal shooting of a right-wing commentator was a harrowing example of where this online hate can lead. 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 years,” he says. Unhealthy one-sided fan dynamics come with the territory, he accepts.

The Future and Finding Balance

Having been accurate about the last election, how does Piker view the next few years? “Things change quite rapidly, 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 points to 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 worse alternative.”

The American left could arguably do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is tempted in traditional political office. He makes periodic media appearances, but he’s not drawn further into legacy media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from traditional publishers.”

And on top of that, he still 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 marathon live stream is about to begin, and he’s eager to get started.