‘I relish when my foes despise me’: the way Hasan Piker emerged as among the biggest voices on the American left

Hasan Piker calls it a simple litmus test: “You get on a bus and you have 30 seconds to describe any online event unfolded to the bus driver without them turning to you and saying, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” Most online conversation, no matter how fiery, fails the test, he argues – 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 shouted “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 In-Between Space

Piker increasingly exists in this liminal zone increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was known primarily to the digitally immersed, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his dominant 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 beleaguered political left, and specifically that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Prime Target for the Right

Predictably, this also positions Piker a prime target of the political right. To his c critics there is a lot to criticize: his blunt political views; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances 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 leveraged his appearance 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,” says 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 regular late morning show. He usually broadcasts live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking off the cuff about the news, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending stream of comments from viewers.

From The Young Turks to Twitch

Building himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for streaming 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 grew up 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 dominantly rightwing, and often toxic views that permeated the space.

“There’s a lot of ideological variety amongst the gamers, among the developers, among the consumers, but sadly, 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 core issue with the American left in general, argues Piker: they’ve relinquished so many battlegrounds to the right. “You still have to market your ideas … but they simply completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is consistently sharply critical of recent administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal member of the major center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “compassion-driven”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the normal 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 occasionally go too far, which gives his opponents fodder. He has been suspended from Twitch several times for perceived offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the framework of a broader critique, he made a statement about a national tragedy that was amplified by right-wing media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was inappropriate.

Similarly, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinians and condemnation of certain state policies have led to allegations of prejudice, which he strongly rejects. He has also been mocked for expressing admiration 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 hate increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained 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 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, yelped suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a major animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the surprise encounter by a random in Dublin.

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

The Divide Between Online and Real Worlds

This illustrates the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very negative energy in the real world and not 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 fairly low stakes. In the US, he admits to feeling less safe. The fatal shooting of a conservative commentator served as a shocking example of where this online hate can lead. Piker watched the event unfold 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 years,” he says. Unhealthy one-sided fan dynamics come with the territory, he acknowledges.

The Future and Finding Balance

Having been prescient about the last 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 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 adds. “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 seems unlikely as if Piker is tempted 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 traditional publishers.”

But 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 lengthy live stream awaits, and he’s eager to get started.