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

Hasan Piker refers to it a simple litmus test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have half a minute to describe whatever online event unfolded to the bus driver before them turning to you and going, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” Most online debate, no matter how heated, fails the test, he argues – including a strange event recently, 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 significance of that specific event might well take the rest of this article.

Navigating the Blurred Space

Piker operates in this gray area increasingly these days. Until relatively recently, the thirty-four-year-old was familiar only to the very online, especially Americans in their twenties and thirties, mostly thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But since the last presidential election, Piker has become an in-demand voice in “offline circles” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and especially that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Favorite Target for the Political Right

Predictably, this also makes Piker a prime target of the political right. To his c critics there is plenty to criticize: his outspoken political stances; 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 typical lefty stereotypes. He has not been afraid his appearance in shirtless magazine photoshoots or social media posts.

“To be frank, I had no idea that this is what I was going to be doing,” states 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 the morning and he’s preparing to start his regular 11am show. He typically broadcasts live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking improvised about the news, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, 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 Solo Streaming

Establishing himself on Twitch, which is primarily for livestreaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker says. 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 graduated to 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 rightwing, and often divisive views that permeated the space.

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

The Problem with the American Left

This is the core issue with the American left in broad terms, says 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 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 generally social democrat and “compassion-driven”, he explains. “My position is actually the standard position in most of the world.”

Firestorms and Backlash

One of the risks of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives his critics fodder. He has been suspended from Twitch multiple times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the context of a broader critique, he made a comment about a national tragedy that was seized upon by right-wing media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was ill-chosen.

Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and condemnation of certain state policies have led to allegations of bias, which he strongly rejects. He has also been mocked for expressing admiration for another 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 says. “It is what it is.”

Real-World Repercussions

The vitriol 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 political opinions 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 harming the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a major animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the surprise encounter by a stranger in Dublin.

Piker handled the situation 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 Offline Worlds

This illustrates the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very hard to maintain a very negative energy in the real world and not coming across as unhinged and odd. Interactions on the internet create this environment where you can be as hostile as you want.”

That Dublin encounter was relatively low stakes. In the US, he feels less safe. The fatal shooting of a conservative commentator served as a shocking example of where this online hate can end up. Piker watched the event develop in real time on his stream.

Piker continues to do real-life streams in the US. “I can’t let fear dictate my life. I’ve gotten death threats for years,” he says. Unhealthy parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he acknowledges.

Looking Ahead and Finding Balance

Having been accurate about the last election, how does Piker view the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite quickly, but if you look at the areas where there is some glimmer of hope, it’s the progressive 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 prevent 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 periodic media guest spots, but he’s not tempted further into traditional 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 personal fulfilment in what I do.” As he’s talking, he’s got one eye on the clock. Another marathon live stream awaits, and he’s itching to get started.