‘I love when my foes loathe me’: how Hasan Piker emerged as among the biggest figures on the American political left

Hasan Piker calls it an everyday benchmark: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have half a minute to clarify any online phenomena took place to the bus driver before them looking at you and going, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” Most online debate, no matter how heated, fails the test, he contends – not least an incident recently, when a person on a Dublin street asked 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 significance of that specific event could easily take the remainder of this article.

Navigating the In-Between Space

Piker finds himself in this gray area more and more these days. Until fairly recently, the 34-year-old was known primarily to the digitally immersed, particularly Americans in their twenties and thirties, largely thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has become an sought-after voice in “traditional media” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Favorite Hate Figure for the Right

Predictably, this also makes Piker a favorite target of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot to dislike: his outspoken political stances; his cultural background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – does not fit stereotypical lefty caricatures. He has leveraged his physique in revealing magazine spreads or social media posts.

“To be frank, 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 imagine 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 broadcasts live for seven or eight hours straight, talking improvised about current affairs, pop culture, what he’s up to, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and responding to the constant stream of messages from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Establishing himself on Twitch, which is primarily for streaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker says. His media career began with The Young Turks, the left-leaning online news network. Piker’s parents are Turkish immigrants, and he grew up 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 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 diversity among the gamers, amongst the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political commentary in this arena is so heavily dominated by the right,” he says.

The Challenge with the American Left

This is the core problem with the American left in broad terms, argues Piker: they’ve relinquished so many arenas to the right. “You absolutely have to market your ideas … but they just completely abandoned 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 clarifies. “My viewpoint is actually the normal position in most of the world.”

Controversies and Backlash

One of the risks of Piker’s style of relaxed, relatable 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. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the framework of a broader critique, he made a statement about a historic attack that was seized upon by right-wing media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the wording was ill-chosen.

Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain government actions have led to allegations of bias, which he denies. He has also been mocked for expressing admiration 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 states. “It is what it is.”

Real-World Repercussions

The vitriol constantly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by American border agents on his re-entry from a trip. They questioned him about his political opinions before letting him go. “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, made a noise suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, sparking a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a major 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 shared with his response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said.

The Difference Between Digital and Offline Worlds

This illustrates the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very negative energy in the real world and not 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 feels less safe. The assassination of a right-wing 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 continues to 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 parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he acknowledges.

Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded

Having been accurate about the last election, how does Piker feel 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 progressive candidates that are actually really 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 life or death at this point,” he continues. “So I will do everything in my power to try and avoid a dark 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 drawn further into legacy media, he says. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from traditional publishers.”

But on top of that, he clearly 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 eager to get started.