‘I love when my foes despise me’: how Hasan Piker emerged as among the most prominent personalities on the US political left

Hasan Piker refers to it an everyday benchmark: “You get on a bus and you have 30 seconds to explain any online event took place to the bus driver before them turning to you and saying, ‘Get off the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online debate, regardless of how heated, does not pass the test, he says – not least a strange event recently, when a person on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; attempting to explain the importance of that specific event could easily take the remainder of this article.

Occupying the Blurred Space

Piker increasingly exists in this in-between space increasingly these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was familiar primarily to the very online, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, largely thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has become an in-demand voice in “the real world” for his views on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Prime Hate Figure for the Political Right

Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a favorite target of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to criticize: his outspoken political views; his cultural background; his associations with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – does not fit stereotypical lefty caricatures. He has leveraged his physique in revealing magazine spreads or social media posts.

“I’ll be honest, I had no idea that this is what I was going to be doing,” states 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 preparing to start his daily 11am show. He typically broadcasts live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking unscripted about the news, pop culture, what he’s up to, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the constant stream of comments from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Twitch

Establishing himself on Twitch, which is primarily for livestreaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker says. His media career began 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 dominantly rightwing, and often divisive views that permeated the space.

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

The Challenge with the American Left

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

Piker is regularly sharply critical of recent administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is no loyal member of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “compassion-driven”, he explains. “My viewpoint is actually the normal position in much of the world.”

Firestorms and Backlash

One of the dangers of Piker’s style of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his critics fodder. He has been suspended from Twitch multiple times for perceived offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the framework of a broader critique, he made a comment about a historic attack that was seized upon by right-wing media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the wording was inappropriate.

Similarly, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain government actions have led to accusations of prejudice, which he denies. He has also been mocked 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.”

Real-World Consequences

The hate constantly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by American 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 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, sparking a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the surprise encounter by a random in Dublin.

Piker took that encounter in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was clipped from his live stream and shared with his reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said.

The Divide Between Online and Real Worlds

This illustrates the difference between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world and not coming across as hysterical and odd. Interactions on the internet create this environment where you can be as hostile as you want.”

That Dublin encounter was relatively low stakes. In the US, he admits to feeling less safe. The assassination of a conservative 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 guide my life. I’ve gotten death threats for years,” he says. Toxic parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he acknowledges.

The Future and Finding Balance

Having been prescient about a recent election, how does Piker view the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite rapidly, but if you look at the areas where there is some glimmer 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 critical importance at this point,” he adds. “So I will do anything in my power to try and avoid a dark alternative.”

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

And on top of that, he clearly 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.