From Digital Streamer to Political Lightning Rod: The Rise of Hasan Piker

Hasan Piker refers to it an everyday benchmark: “You get 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, ‘Get off the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online discourse, regardless of how heated, fails the test, he argues – not least a strange event recently, when a person on a Dublin street requested to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; trying to explain the significance of this particular event could easily take the remainder of this article.

Existing in the In-Between Zone

Piker finds himself in this gray area more and more these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-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 the last presidential election, Piker has become an sought-after voice in “traditional media” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Favorite Target for the Right

Predictably, this also positions Piker a favorite target of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to dislike: his outspoken political views; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances with left-wing 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 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. “Like, 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 daily late morning show. He typically broadcasts live for seven or eight hours straight, talking off the cuff about the news, lifestyle stories, his personal life, 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

Building himself on Twitch, which is primarily for streaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker says. His media career began with The Young Turks, the left-leaning online news network. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he was raised between New Jersey and Istanbul before majoring in political science. He graduated to his own show on the network in 2016 but in 2018 he chose to go solo on Twitch, to counterbalance what he saw as overwhelmingly conservative, and often divisive views that permeated the space.

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

The Problem with the American Left

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

Piker is consistently sharply critical of past administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal member of the dominant 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 multiple times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the framework of a broader critique, he made a comment about a historic attack that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the wording was inappropriate.

Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and criticism of certain government actions have led to allegations of bias, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing admiration for a different major global power, after a trip there.

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

Offline Consequences

The hate constantly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by American border agents on his return from a trip. They questioned 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 enmity help explain the “Free Kaya!” incident in Dublin. It originated from a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, yelped suddenly. Online detractors jumped to the conclusion that Piker was harming the animal, sparking a online controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” 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 shared with his response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said.

The Difference Between Online and Real Worlds

This illustrates 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 unhinged and odd. Interactions 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 admits to feeling less safe. The fatal shooting of a right-wing commentator served as a harrowing example of where this online hate can lead. Piker watched the event unfold 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 over a decade,” he says. Unhealthy parasocial relationships come with the territory, he acknowledges.

Looking Ahead and Finding Balance

Having been accurate about the last 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 progressive 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 worse alternative.”

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

But on top of that, he clearly 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.