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

Hasan Piker dubs it a simple litmus test: “You get on a bus and you have half a minute to explain whatever online drama unfolded to the bus driver without them looking at you and saying, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” Most online conversation, no matter how fiery, fails the test, he contends – including a strange event recently, when someone on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; attempting to explain the significance of that specific event might well take the remainder of this article.

Occupying the Blurred Zone

Piker finds himself in this liminal zone increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was known primarily to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their 20s and 30s, largely thanks to his presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an sought-after 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

Predictably, this also positions Piker a favorite target of the political right. To his c critics there is a lot to dislike: his direct political views; his Turkish, Muslim background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – does not fit typical lefty caricatures. He has leveraged his physique 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 the morning and he’s getting ready to start his regular late morning show. He usually broadcasts live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking off the cuff about current affairs, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the constant stream of comments from viewers.

From The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Building himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for streaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker explains. His media career started out with The Young Turks, the left-leaning 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 decided to go solo on Twitch, to provide an alternative to what he saw as overwhelmingly rightwing, and often toxic views that permeated 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 hobby is so overwhelmingly dominated by the right,” he says.

The Problem with the American Left

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

Piker is regularly critical of recent administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is no loyal supporter of the major center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “empathy-first”, he explains. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in much of the world.”

Firestorms and Criticism

One of the dangers of Piker’s style of relaxed, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives his opponents 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 comment about a historic attack that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was inappropriate.

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

Offline Repercussions

The hate increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by American border agents on his return from travel abroad. They questioned him about his political opinions 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 originated from a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, yelped suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists jumped to the conclusion that Piker was mistreating the animal, sparking a meme-fueled 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 disseminated with his reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said.

The Difference Between Online and Offline 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. Exchanges on the internet create this environment where you can be as hostile as you want.”

That Dublin encounter was fairly low stakes. In the US, he admits to feeling less safe. The assassination of a right-wing commentator was a shocking example of where this online hate can lead. 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 over a decade,” he says. Toxic one-sided fan dynamics come with the territory, he acknowledges.

Looking Ahead and Finding Balance

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 avenues where there is some glimmer of hope, it’s the left candidates that are actually really galvanising the public,” he says. He references the progressive “wing”.

“We have to embrace 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 dark alternative.”

The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is tempted in mainstream political office. He makes occasional media appearances, 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 still 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 awaits, and he’s eager to get started.