🔗 Share this article ‘I adore when my enemies loathe me’: the way Hasan Piker emerged as one of the largest figures on the American left Hasan Piker dubs it a simple litmus test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have 30 seconds to clarify any online event took place to the bus driver before them looking at you and saying, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online conversation, regardless of how heated, does not pass the test, he says – not least a strange event recently, when someone 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 importance of that specific event might well take the rest of this article. Existing in the Blurred Zone Piker increasingly exists in this gray area more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the thirty-four-year-old was known primarily to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But since the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “traditional media” for his perspectives on the struggling political left, and specifically that inordinately discussed demographic, young men. A Prime Target for the Political Right Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a prime hate figure of the political right. To his enemies there is plenty to criticize: his outspoken political views; his Turkish, Muslim background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – defies stereotypical lefty stereotypes. He has leveraged his appearance in revealing magazine photoshoots or social media posts. “To be frank, I had no clue that this is what I was going to be doing,” says 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 getting ready to start his daily late morning show. He typically broadcasts live for seven or eight hours straight, 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 never-ending stream of messages from viewers. From The Young Turks to Twitch Building himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for livestreaming video games, was a conscious 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 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 provide an alternative to what he saw as overwhelmingly rightwing, and often divisive views that permeated the space. “You can find ideological diversity amongst 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 general, says Piker: they’ve conceded so many cultural spaces to the right. “You absolutely have to market your ideas … but they just completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.” Piker is regularly sharply critical of recent administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is no loyal member of the major center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democratic and “empathy-first”, he explains. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in much of the world.” Controversies and Backlash One of the dangers of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his critics ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple 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 national tragedy that was amplified by conservative media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the wording was ill-chosen. Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain government actions have led to allegations of prejudice, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing praise for a different major global power, after a trip there. “I have no issues getting attacked by people on the right. I love when my enemies hate me,” he states. “It is what it is.” Offline Repercussions The vitriol increasingly threatens 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 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 detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was harming 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 reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said. The Divide Between Digital and Real Worlds This highlights the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very hard to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world and not coming across as unhinged and odd. Exchanges on the internet create this environment where you can be as aggressive as you want.” That Dublin encounter was relatively low stakes. In the US, he admits to feeling less safe. The assassination of a conservative commentator served as 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 accepts. The Future and Finding Balance Having been accurate about the last election, how does Piker view 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 references the progressive “left flank”. “We have to lean into that, because I feel like it’s a matter of life or death at this point,” he adds. “So I will do everything in my power to try and prevent a worse alternative.” The American left could arguably do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is tempted in traditional 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 traditional publishers.” And on top of that, he still 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 lengthy live stream awaits, and he’s itching to get started.
Hasan Piker dubs it a simple litmus test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have 30 seconds to clarify any online event took place to the bus driver before them looking at you and saying, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online conversation, regardless of how heated, does not pass the test, he says – not least a strange event recently, when someone 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 importance of that specific event might well take the rest of this article. Existing in the Blurred Zone Piker increasingly exists in this gray area more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the thirty-four-year-old was known primarily to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But since the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “traditional media” for his perspectives on the struggling political left, and specifically that inordinately discussed demographic, young men. A Prime Target for the Political Right Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a prime hate figure of the political right. To his enemies there is plenty to criticize: his outspoken political views; his Turkish, Muslim background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – defies stereotypical lefty stereotypes. He has leveraged his appearance in revealing magazine photoshoots or social media posts. “To be frank, I had no clue that this is what I was going to be doing,” says 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 getting ready to start his daily late morning show. He typically broadcasts live for seven or eight hours straight, 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 never-ending stream of messages from viewers. From The Young Turks to Twitch Building himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for livestreaming video games, was a conscious 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 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 provide an alternative to what he saw as overwhelmingly rightwing, and often divisive views that permeated the space. “You can find ideological diversity amongst 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 general, says Piker: they’ve conceded so many cultural spaces to the right. “You absolutely have to market your ideas … but they just completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.” Piker is regularly sharply critical of recent administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is no loyal member of the major center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democratic and “empathy-first”, he explains. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in much of the world.” Controversies and Backlash One of the dangers of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his critics ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple 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 national tragedy that was amplified by conservative media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the wording was ill-chosen. Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain government actions have led to allegations of prejudice, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing praise for a different major global power, after a trip there. “I have no issues getting attacked by people on the right. I love when my enemies hate me,” he states. “It is what it is.” Offline Repercussions The vitriol increasingly threatens 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 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 detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was harming 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 reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said. The Divide Between Digital and Real Worlds This highlights the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very hard to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world and not coming across as unhinged and odd. Exchanges on the internet create this environment where you can be as aggressive as you want.” That Dublin encounter was relatively low stakes. In the US, he admits to feeling less safe. The assassination of a conservative commentator served as 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 accepts. The Future and Finding Balance Having been accurate about the last election, how does Piker view 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 references the progressive “left flank”. “We have to lean into that, because I feel like it’s a matter of life or death at this point,” he adds. “So I will do everything in my power to try and prevent a worse alternative.” The American left could arguably do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is tempted in traditional 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 traditional publishers.” And on top of that, he still 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 lengthy live stream awaits, and he’s itching to get started.