‘I love when my foes loathe me’: the way Hasan Piker rose to become among the most prominent figures on the American political left

Hasan Piker refers to it the bus driver test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have half a minute to explain any online phenomena unfolded to the bus driver without them looking at you and saying, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online discourse, no matter how fiery, fails the test, he says – not least an incident recently, when someone on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; attempting to explain the significance of this particular event could easily take the remainder of this article.

Existing in the Blurred Zone

Piker increasingly exists in this liminal zone increasingly these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was known primarily to the very online, 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 become an sought-after voice in “offline circles” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and especially that constantly discussed demographic, young men.

A Favorite Hate Figure for the Political Right

Predictably, this also makes Piker a prime villain 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 – physically imposing and charismatic – defies stereotypical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid 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,” says Piker. “Like, 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 getting ready to start his daily 11am show. He typically streams live for seven to eight hours consecutively, 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 comments from viewers.

From The Young Turks to Twitch

Establishing himself on Twitch, a platform 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. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he was raised between New Jersey and Istanbul before majoring in political science. He eventually hosted his own show on the network in 2016 but in 2018 he decided to go solo on Twitch, to counterbalance what he saw as overwhelmingly conservative, and often divisive views that infested the space.

“There’s a lot of ideological diversity amongst the gamers, amongst the developers, among the consumers, but sadly, the market for political commentary in this hobby is so overwhelmingly dominated by the right,” he says.

The Challenge 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 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 no loyal member of the major center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democratic and “compassion-driven”, he clarifies. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in much of the world.”

Controversies and Backlash

One of the risks of Piker’s style of informal, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his critics ammunition. 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 comment about a national tragedy that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was inappropriate.

Similarly, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinians and criticism of certain government actions have led to accusations of prejudice, which he strongly rejects. He has also been ridiculed 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 states. “It is what it is.”

Real-World Consequences

The hate constantly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by American border agents on his return from a trip. They interrogated him about his political opinions before letting him go. “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 conspiracy theorists jumped to the conclusion that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a major animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the ambush by a stranger in Dublin.

Piker handled the situation 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 Online and Offline Worlds

This illustrates the difference between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very hard to maintain a very hostile 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 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 was 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 over a decade,” he says. Unhealthy one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he acknowledges.

The Future and Staying Grounded

Having been accurate about the last election, how does Piker view the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite rapidly, but if you look at the areas where there is some glimmer of hope, it’s the progressive 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 life or death 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 interested in mainstream political office. He makes periodic 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.”

And on top of that, he still 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 lengthy live stream awaits, and he’s eager to get started.