From Digital Streamer to Political 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 describe whatever online phenomena unfolded to the bus driver without them turning to you and saying, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” Most online debate, regardless of how intense, does not pass the test, he contends – not least a strange event recently, when someone 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 significance of that specific event could easily take the rest of this article.

Existing in the Gray Zone

Piker operates in this in-between space more and more 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 platform Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has become an in-demand voice in “the real world” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and especially that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Favorite Target for the Right

Unsurprisingly, this also positions Piker a favorite target of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to dislike: his outspoken political views; his cultural background; his allegiances with progressive politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – defies typical lefty stereotypes. He has not been afraid his appearance in shirtless magazine spreads or social media posts.

“To be frank, I had no clue that this is what I was going to be doing,” says 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 getting ready to start his regular late morning show. He usually streams live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking improvised about the news, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the constant stream of messages from viewers.

From The Young Turks to Twitch

Establishing himself on Twitch, a platform 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. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he was raised between New Jersey and Istanbul before studying 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 overwhelmingly rightwing, and often divisive views that infested the space.

“There’s a lot of ideological variety amongst the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political expression in this arena is so heavily dominated by the right,” he notes.

The Problem with the American Left

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

Piker is consistently critical of past 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 broadly social democrat and “compassion-driven”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the normal position in much of the world.”

Firestorms and Criticism

One of the risks of Piker’s type of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his opponents fodder. He has been suspended from Twitch several times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the context of a wider critique, he made a statement about a national tragedy that was seized upon by right-wing media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the language was ill-chosen.

Similarly, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinians and criticism of certain state policies have led to accusations of bias, which he strongly rejects. He has also been mocked for expressing admiration 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 says. “It is what it is.”

Offline Consequences

The vitriol increasingly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by US border agents on his return from a trip. They questioned him about his views 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 swiftly concluded that Piker was harming the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the ambush by a stranger in Dublin.

Piker handled the situation in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was edited from his live stream and shared with his response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” 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 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 was a shocking example of where this online hate can end up. 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 dictate my life. I’ve gotten death threats for years,” he says. Unhealthy one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he acknowledges.

Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded

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 avenues where there is some semblance 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 life or death at this point,” he adds. “So I will do anything in my power to try and prevent a dark alternative.”

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

And on top of that, he clearly 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.