From Online Streamer 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 describe whatever online drama unfolded to the bus driver before them looking at you and going, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online conversation, regardless of how intense, does not pass the test, he contends – including an incident recently, when someone on a Dublin street requested to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; attempting to explain the significance of this particular event could easily take the rest of this article.

Occupying the Gray Zone

Piker finds himself in this gray area increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the 34-year-old was familiar primarily to the digitally immersed, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an sought-after voice in “the real world” for his perspectives on the beleaguered political left, and especially that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Favorite Target for the Political Right

Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his c critics there is plenty to criticize: his blunt political stances; his cultural background; his associations with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – does not fit stereotypical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid his physique 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 daily late morning show. He typically streams live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking improvised about current affairs, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending stream of comments from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Twitch

Building himself on Twitch, which is primarily for livestreaming video games, was a deliberate 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 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 dominantly conservative, and often toxic views that permeated the space.

“There’s a lot of 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 notes.

The Problem with the American Left

This is the core problem with the American left in general, argues Piker: they’ve ceded so many arenas 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 consistently critical of past 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 “empathy-first”, he explains. “My viewpoint is actually the normal position in most of the world.”

Controversies and Criticism

One of the risks of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his opponents ammunition. 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 broader critique, he made a comment about a historic attack that was amplified by right-wing media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was inappropriate.

Likewise, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain state policies have led to allegations of bias, which he strongly rejects. He has also been ridiculed for expressing praise for another major global power, after a trip there.

“I have no issues getting vilified by people on the right. I relish when my enemies hate me,” he states. “It is what it is.”

Offline Repercussions

The hate increasingly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by American border agents on his re-entry from a trip. They interrogated him about his views before letting him go. “I think they did it because they are aware of who I am,” he said.

These levels of hostility help explain the “Free Kaya!” incident in Dublin. It started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, made a noise suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the surprise encounter by a random in Dublin.

Piker handled the situation in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was edited from his live stream and disseminated with his response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said.

The Divide Between Online and Real Worlds

This highlights the difference between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very negative energy in the real world and not coming across as hysterical and odd. Exchanges on the internet foster 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 right-wing commentator served as 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. Unhealthy one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he acknowledges.

Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded

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 avenues where there is some semblance 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 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 arguably do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is interested in mainstream political office. He makes occasional media guest spots, but he’s not drawn further into traditional 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 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.