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

Hasan Piker refers to it an everyday benchmark: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have a brief moment to explain whatever online phenomena occurred to the bus driver without them turning to you and saying, ‘Get off the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online debate, no matter how fiery, fails the test, he contends – including an incident recently, 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!” Never mind the bus driver; attempting to explain the meaning of that specific event might well take the remainder of this article.

Occupying the Blurred Space

Piker finds himself in this liminal zone increasingly these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was known only 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 “traditional media” for his views on the struggling political left, and specifically that constantly discussed demographic, young men.

A Favorite Target for the Right

Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a prime hate figure of the political right. To his detractors there is a lot to criticize: his outspoken political stances; his Turkish, Muslim 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 stereotypical lefty stereotypes. He has not been afraid his appearance in shirtless magazine spreads or social media posts.

“I’ll be honest, I had no clue that this is what I was going to be doing,” states 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 preparing to start his daily 11am show. He typically streams live for seven to eight hours straight, talking improvised about current affairs, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and responding to the never-ending stream of comments from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Twitch

Establishing himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for livestreaming 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 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 provide an alternative to what he saw as overwhelmingly conservative, and often divisive views that permeated the space.

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

The Challenge with the American Left

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

Piker is regularly sharply critical of recent administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal member of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the standard position in most of the world.”

Firestorms and Criticism

One of the risks of Piker’s style of informal, relatable commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his opponents fodder. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple times for deemed offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the context of a broader critique, he made a statement about a historic attack that was amplified by conservative media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the language was inappropriate.

Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and condemnation of certain government actions have led to allegations of prejudice, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing praise for another major global power, after a trip there.

“I have no issues 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 travel abroad. They interrogated him about his views before releasing him. “I think they did it because they are aware of who I am,” he said.

These levels of hostility 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 meme-fueled controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a prominent animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the surprise encounter by a stranger in Dublin.

Piker took that encounter 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 Digital and Real Worlds

This illustrates the difference between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very negative energy in the real world without coming across as hysterical and odd. Interactions on the internet foster 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 conservative commentator served as a harrowing example of where this online hate can lead. Piker watched the event develop 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. Unhealthy parasocial relationships come with the territory, he acknowledges.

Looking Ahead and Finding Balance

Having been accurate about a recent election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “Things change quite rapidly, 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 references the progressive “left flank”.

“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 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 occasional media guest spots, but he’s not drawn further into legacy media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from traditional 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 lengthy live stream is about to begin, and he’s itching to get started.