From Online Commentator to Ideological Lightning Rod: The Rise of Hasan Piker

Hasan Piker dubs it an everyday benchmark: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have half a minute to explain whatever online event unfolded to the bus driver without them turning to you and going, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” Most online discourse, no matter how intense, fails the test, he says – not least an incident recently, when someone 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; attempting to explain the importance of that specific event might well take the rest of this article.

Occupying the Gray Zone

Piker operates in this gray area more and more these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was known primarily to the very online, especially Americans in their 20s and 30s, largely thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But following the last presidential election, Piker has become an in-demand voice in “traditional media” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and especially that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Favorite Hate Figure for the Political Right

Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a prime hate figure of the political right. To his detractors there is a lot to dislike: his outspoken political stances; his cultural background; his allegiances with left-wing politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – does not fit typical lefty stereotypes. He has not been afraid his physique in shirtless 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. “Like, 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 preparing to start his regular late morning show. He typically streams live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking off the cuff about current affairs, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and interacting with the constant stream of messages from viewers.

From The Young Turks to Twitch

Building himself on Twitch, which is primarily for livestreaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker explains. His media career started out 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 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 conservative, and often toxic views that infested the space.

“You can find ideological diversity among the gamers, amongst the developers, amongst the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political commentary in this hobby is so heavily dominated by the right,” he says.

The Problem with the American Left

This is the core problem with the American left in general, says Piker: they’ve conceded so many battlegrounds to the right. “You still have to promote your ideas … but they simply completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is regularly sharply critical of past administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is no loyal supporter of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My viewpoint is actually the normal position in much of the world.”

Firestorms and Criticism

One of the dangers of Piker’s style of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his opponents fodder. He has been suspended 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 statement about a historic attack that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the language was ill-chosen.

Likewise, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinians and condemnation 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 vilified by people on the right. I relish when my enemies hate me,” he says. “It is what it is.”

Offline Consequences

The vitriol constantly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by US border agents on his return from travel abroad. 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 enmity 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 “collargate.” Even a prominent animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the surprise encounter by a stranger in Dublin.

Piker took that encounter 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 Offline Worlds

This illustrates the difference between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world without coming across as hysterical and odd. Interactions on the internet create 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 was 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. Toxic one-sided fan dynamics 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 semblance of hope, it’s the left candidates that are actually really galvanising the public,” he says. He references the progressive “wing”.

“We have to embrace 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 perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it doesn’t sound as if Piker is tempted in mainstream political office. He makes occasional media appearances, but he’s not drawn further into traditional media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.”

But 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 marathon live stream is about to begin, and he’s eager to get started.