🔗 Share this article From Online Streamer to Ideological Lightning Rod: The Ascent of Hasan Piker Hasan Piker dubs it an everyday benchmark: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have a brief moment to describe whatever online phenomena took place to the bus driver before them turning to you and saying, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online conversation, regardless of how heated, does not pass the test, he contends – including a strange event last weekend, when someone on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; attempting to explain the importance of that specific event might well take the rest of this article. Occupying the Gray Space Piker increasingly exists in this gray area increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the 34-year-old was familiar only to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their twenties and thirties, largely thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “the real world” for his views on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that inordinately discussed demographic, young men. A Prime Hate Figure for the Political Right Predictably, this also positions Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to criticize: his blunt political views; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances with progressive politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – defies typical lefty stereotypes. He has not been afraid his physique in shirtless magazine spreads or social media posts. “To be frank, I had no clue that this is what I was going to be doing,” says 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 early and he’s getting ready to start his daily late morning show. He usually broadcasts live for seven or eight hours straight, talking off the cuff about the news, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and interacting with the constant 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 conscious decision, Piker explains. His media career began with The Young Turks, the left-leaning online news network. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he was raised 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 overwhelmingly rightwing, and often divisive views that permeated the space. “There’s a lot of ideological variety among the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political expression in this arena is so overwhelmingly dominated by the right,” he notes. The Challenge with the American Left This is the fundamental problem with the American left in broad terms, argues Piker: they’ve ceded so many battlegrounds 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 critical of past administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal supporter of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are generally social democratic and “empathy-first”, he explains. “My position is actually the normal position in much of the world.” Firestorms and Backlash One of the risks of Piker’s style of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his critics fodder. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the context of a wider critique, he made a statement about a historic attack that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was ill-chosen. Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and criticism of certain government actions have led to allegations of bias, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing admiration for a different major global power, after a trip there. “I have no problem getting attacked by people on the right. I relish when my enemies hate me,” he states. “It is what it is.” Offline Repercussions The hate constantly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by American border agents on his re-entry from travel abroad. They interrogated 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, yelped suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists jumped to the conclusion that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the ambush by a stranger in Dublin. Piker handled the situation 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 Digital and Offline Worlds This highlights the difference between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very hard to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world without coming across as unhinged 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 right-wing commentator was a shocking 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. Toxic one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he accepts. Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded Having been prescient about a recent election, how does Piker view the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite quickly, but if you look at the avenues 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 lean into that, because I feel like it’s a matter of critical importance at this point,” he continues. “So I will do everything in my power to try and avoid a worse alternative.” The American left could arguably do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is interested in mainstream political office. He makes periodic media appearances, but he’s not tempted further into legacy media, he says. “The audience 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.
Hasan Piker dubs it an everyday benchmark: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have a brief moment to describe whatever online phenomena took place to the bus driver before them turning to you and saying, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online conversation, regardless of how heated, does not pass the test, he contends – including a strange event last weekend, when someone on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; attempting to explain the importance of that specific event might well take the rest of this article. Occupying the Gray Space Piker increasingly exists in this gray area increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the 34-year-old was familiar only to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their twenties and thirties, largely thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “the real world” for his views on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that inordinately discussed demographic, young men. A Prime Hate Figure for the Political Right Predictably, this also positions Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to criticize: his blunt political views; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances with progressive politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – defies typical lefty stereotypes. He has not been afraid his physique in shirtless magazine spreads or social media posts. “To be frank, I had no clue that this is what I was going to be doing,” says 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 early and he’s getting ready to start his daily late morning show. He usually broadcasts live for seven or eight hours straight, talking off the cuff about the news, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and interacting with the constant 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 conscious decision, Piker explains. His media career began with The Young Turks, the left-leaning online news network. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he was raised 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 overwhelmingly rightwing, and often divisive views that permeated the space. “There’s a lot of ideological variety among the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political expression in this arena is so overwhelmingly dominated by the right,” he notes. The Challenge with the American Left This is the fundamental problem with the American left in broad terms, argues Piker: they’ve ceded so many battlegrounds 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 critical of past administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal supporter of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are generally social democratic and “empathy-first”, he explains. “My position is actually the normal position in much of the world.” Firestorms and Backlash One of the risks of Piker’s style of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his critics fodder. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the context of a wider critique, he made a statement about a historic attack that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was ill-chosen. Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and criticism of certain government actions have led to allegations of bias, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing admiration for a different major global power, after a trip there. “I have no problem getting attacked by people on the right. I relish when my enemies hate me,” he states. “It is what it is.” Offline Repercussions The hate constantly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by American border agents on his re-entry from travel abroad. They interrogated 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, yelped suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists jumped to the conclusion that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the ambush by a stranger in Dublin. Piker handled the situation 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 Digital and Offline Worlds This highlights the difference between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very hard to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world without coming across as unhinged 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 right-wing commentator was a shocking 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. Toxic one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he accepts. Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded Having been prescient about a recent election, how does Piker view the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite quickly, but if you look at the avenues 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 lean into that, because I feel like it’s a matter of critical importance at this point,” he continues. “So I will do everything in my power to try and avoid a worse alternative.” The American left could arguably do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is interested in mainstream political office. He makes periodic media appearances, but he’s not tempted further into legacy media, he says. “The audience 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.