From Digital Streamer to Ideological Figurehead: The Rise of Hasan Piker

Hasan Piker calls it an everyday benchmark: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have half a minute to explain whatever online phenomena occurred to the bus driver without them turning to you and going, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” Most online debate, regardless of how fiery, does not pass the test, he says – not least a strange event last weekend, when a person on a Dublin street requested to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; trying to explain the meaning of this particular event could easily take the remainder of this article.

Navigating the In-Between Space

Piker operates in this gray area increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was familiar only to the very online, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, largely thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has become an sought-after voice in “the real world” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Prime Hate Figure for the Right

Predictably, this also positions Piker a favorite villain of the political right. To his c critics there is plenty to dislike: his direct political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances with progressive politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – does not fit typical 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,” 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 the morning and he’s preparing to start his regular late morning show. He usually streams live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking off the cuff 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.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Establishing himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for streaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker explains. His media career began with The Young Turks, the progressive online news network. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he grew up 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 conservative, and often toxic views that infested the space.

“There’s a lot of ideological variety among the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political expression in this hobby is so heavily dominated by the right,” he says.

The Problem with the American Left

This is the fundamental issue with the American left in broad terms, says Piker: they’ve conceded so many cultural spaces to the right. “You absolutely have to promote your ideas … but they just completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is consistently sharply critical of past 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 democratic and “compassion-driven”, he explains. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in much of the world.”

Firestorms and Criticism

One of the risks of Piker’s style of relaxed, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes 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 framework of a wider critique, he made a comment about a historic attack that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the language was ill-chosen.

Similarly, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain state policies have led to accusations of prejudice, which he denies. He has also been mocked 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 states. “It is what it is.”

Real-World Consequences

The vitriol constantly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by US border agents on his re-entry from a trip. They questioned him about his views before releasing him. “I think they did it because they know 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, made a noise suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, sparking a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent 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 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 Divide Between Digital and Real Worlds

This illustrates the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very hard to maintain a very negative energy in the real world without coming across as unhinged 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 admits to feeling less safe. The assassination of a right-wing commentator was a harrowing example of where this online hate can lead. 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. Unhealthy parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he acknowledges.

The Future and Staying Grounded

Having been prescient about a recent election, how does Piker view the next few years? “Things change quite rapidly, but if you look at the avenues where there is some glimmer of hope, it’s the left candidates that are actually really galvanising the public,” he says. He references 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 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 guest spots, but he’s not drawn further into legacy media, he says. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from traditional publishers.”

But on top of that, he still enjoys it: “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.