From Online Streamer to Political Figurehead: The Ascent of Hasan Piker

Hasan Piker refers to it an everyday benchmark: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have 30 seconds to clarify whatever online event occurred to the bus driver before them looking at you and saying, ‘Get off the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online discourse, regardless of how intense, does not pass the test, he contends – not least an incident last weekend, when a person on a Dublin street requested to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; trying to explain the meaning of this particular event could easily take the rest of this article.

Occupying the Gray Space

Piker operates in this liminal zone increasingly these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was known primarily to the very online, especially Americans in their twenties and thirties, mostly thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But since the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an sought-after voice in “offline circles” for his views on the struggling political left, and especially that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Prime Target for the Right

Predictably, this also makes Piker a favorite hate figure of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot to dislike: his blunt political views; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – does not fit stereotypical lefty stereotypes. He has leveraged his physique in shirtless magazine spreads or social media posts.

“To be frank, I had no idea 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 the morning and he’s preparing to start his regular 11am show. He usually broadcasts live for seven to eight hours straight, talking unscripted about current affairs, lifestyle stories, his personal life, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and responding to the never-ending stream of comments from viewers.

From The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Establishing himself on Twitch, which is primarily for streaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker says. His media career started out with The Young Turks, the left-leaning online news network. Piker’s 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 toxic views that permeated the space.

“You can find ideological diversity among the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but unfortunately, 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 core problem with the American left in general, argues Piker: they’ve ceded so many battlegrounds to the right. “You still have to promote your ideas … but they just completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is consistently critical of past administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is no loyal member of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democratic and “compassion-driven”, he explains. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in most of the world.”

Controversies and Criticism

One of the risks of Piker’s type of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives his critics 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 comment about a historic attack that was amplified by right-wing media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the language was ill-chosen.

Likewise, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinian rights and condemnation of certain government actions have led to allegations of prejudice, which he denies. He has also been mocked for expressing praise for another 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.”

Real-World Repercussions

The hate constantly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by American border agents on his return from a trip. They interrogated him about his views before letting him go. “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 started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, yelped suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists jumped to the conclusion that Piker was harming the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the surprise encounter 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 foster this environment where you can be as hostile as you want.”

That Dublin encounter was fairly 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 dictate my life. I’ve gotten death threats for over a decade,” he says. Toxic parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he accepts.

The Future 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 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 critical importance at this point,” he adds. “So I will do anything in my power to try and prevent a worse alternative.”

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