From Online Commentator to Ideological Figurehead: The Rise of Hasan Piker

Hasan Piker calls it a simple litmus test: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have half a minute to describe whatever online phenomena occurred to the bus driver without them turning to you and saying, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online discourse, regardless of how intense, fails the test, he says – not least an incident last weekend, when someone on a Dublin street requested to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; trying to explain the importance of that specific event might well take the remainder of this article.

Existing in the Blurred Space

Piker finds himself in this gray area increasingly these days. Until fairly 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 channel Twitch. But following the last presidential election, Piker has become an sought-after voice in “offline circles” for his analysis on the struggling political left, and especially that constantly discussed demographic, young men.

A Prime Target for the Right

Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot to criticize: his outspoken political views; his cultural background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – defies typical lefty caricatures. He has leveraged his physique in shirtless magazine photoshoots or social media posts.

“To be frank, 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 ever think 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 typically broadcasts live for seven to eight hours straight, talking improvised about the news, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and responding to the never-ending stream of comments from viewers.

From The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Building himself on Twitch, which is primarily for streaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker explains. His media career began 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 majoring in 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 dominantly conservative, and often toxic views that infested the space.

“There’s a lot of ideological diversity among the gamers, amongst the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political commentary in this hobby is so overwhelmingly dominated by the right,” he says.

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 cultural spaces to the right. “You still have to market your ideas … but they simply completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is consistently sharply 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 clarifies. “My position is actually the standard position in most of the world.”

Controversies and Backlash

One of the risks of Piker’s style of relaxed, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which provides his critics fodder. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch several times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the context of a wider critique, he made a comment about a national tragedy that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the language was inappropriate.

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

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

Real-World Consequences

The vitriol increasingly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by American border agents on his re-entry from travel abroad. They interrogated him about his political opinions 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 originated from a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, made a noise suddenly. Online detractors jumped to the conclusion that Piker was harming the animal, sparking a online controversy dubbed “collargate.” 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 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 highlights the difference between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very hard 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 hostile as you want.”

That Dublin encounter was relatively low stakes. In the US, he feels less safe. The fatal shooting of a conservative commentator served as a shocking example of where this online hate can end up. 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 one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he accepts.

Looking Ahead and Finding Balance

Having been prescient about a recent election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “Things change quite quickly, but if you look at the avenues where there is some semblance of hope, it’s the left candidates that are actually truly galvanising the public,” he says. He points to the progressive “left flank”.

“We have to lean into that, because I feel like it’s a matter of critical importance at this point,” he continues. “So I will do anything in my power to try and avoid a worse 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 guest spots, but he’s not tempted further into legacy media, he says. “Viewers 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 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.