‘I relish when my foes loathe me’: how Hasan Piker emerged as among the largest personalities on the US left

Hasan Piker refers to it a simple litmus test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have a brief moment to describe whatever online drama unfolded to the bus driver before them looking at you and saying, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” Most online debate, no matter how intense, does not pass the test, he contends – not least an incident last weekend, when someone on a Dublin street requested 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 meaning of this particular event might well take the remainder of this article.

Occupying the Gray Space

Piker increasingly exists in this in-between space increasingly these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was known primarily to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their twenties and thirties, mostly thanks to his presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has become an in-demand voice in “traditional media” for his perspectives on the struggling political left, and especially that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Prime Target for the Right

Predictably, this also makes Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot to dislike: his outspoken political stances; his cultural background; his allegiances with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – defies stereotypical lefty stereotypes. He has leveraged his appearance in shirtless magazine photoshoots or social media posts.

“I’ll be honest, I had no clue 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 early and he’s preparing to start his daily late morning show. He usually broadcasts live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking improvised about current affairs, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and responding to the constant stream of comments from viewers.

From The Young Turks to Twitch

Building himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for livestreaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker says. His media career began with The Young Turks, the left-leaning online news network. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he grew up 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 provide an alternative to what he saw as dominantly rightwing, and often toxic views that infested the space.

“You can find ideological variety amongst 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, says Piker: they’ve relinquished so many cultural spaces to the right. “You absolutely have to market your ideas … but they simply completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.”

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

Controversies and Criticism

One of the dangers of Piker’s style of informal, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives his opponents ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch several times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the context of a broader critique, he made a statement about a national tragedy that was amplified by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the language was ill-chosen.

Similarly, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinians and condemnation of certain government actions have led to allegations of bias, which he strongly rejects. 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 Consequences

The vitriol increasingly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by American border agents on his re-entry from a trip. They questioned him about his views before letting him go. “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 started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, yelped suddenly. Online detractors jumped to the conclusion that Piker was harming the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a prominent animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the ambush by a random 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 devastated,” he said.

The Difference Between Digital and Offline Worlds

This highlights the chasm 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 unhinged and odd. Exchanges 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 conservative commentator was a harrowing example of where this online hate can end up. 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 guide 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 accurate 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 left candidates that are actually truly galvanising the public,” he says. He points to 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 worse alternative.”

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

But on top of that, he clearly finds it fulfilling: “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.