From Digital Streamer to Political Figurehead: The Rise of Hasan Piker

Hasan Piker dubs it an everyday benchmark: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have 30 seconds to describe any online phenomena took place to the bus driver before them turning to you and saying, ‘Get off the fucking bus.’” Most online discourse, regardless of how fiery, does not pass the test, he argues – 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 shouted “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; attempting to explain the meaning of that specific event could easily take the remainder of this article.

Navigating the In-Between Zone

Piker increasingly exists in this liminal zone more and more these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was familiar only to the very online, particularly 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 transformed into an sought-after voice in “traditional media” for his analysis on the struggling political left, and especially that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Prime Hate Figure for the Right

Predictably, this also positions Piker a favorite target of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot to criticize: his blunt political views; his cultural background; his associations with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – does not fit typical lefty stereotypes. He has leveraged his appearance in revealing magazine photoshoots or social media posts.

“I’ll be honest, I had no clue that this is what I was going to be doing,” states 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 preparing to start his daily late morning show. He typically broadcasts live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking unscripted about current affairs, pop culture, what he’s up to, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and responding to the constant stream of messages from viewers.

From The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Building himself on Twitch, a platform 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 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 rightwing, and often toxic views that permeated the space.

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

The Challenge with the American Left

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

Piker is consistently sharply critical of recent administrations on his show, especially 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 type 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 perceived offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the context of a wider critique, he made a comment about a historic attack that was amplified by right-wing media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the wording was ill-chosen.

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

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

Offline Consequences

The vitriol increasingly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by American border agents on his re-entry from travel abroad. They interrogated him about his views before letting him go. “I think they did it because they know 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, yelped suddenly. Online detractors jumped to the conclusion that Piker was harming the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a major animal rights organization put out 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 clipped from his live stream and disseminated with his response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said.

The Difference Between Online and Real Worlds

This illustrates the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world and not coming across as hysterical and odd. Interactions on the internet create 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 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 guide my life. I’ve gotten death threats for over a decade,” 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 view the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite rapidly, 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 lean into that, because I feel like it’s a matter of critical importance at this point,” he adds. “So I will do anything in my power to try and prevent a dark alternative.”

The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it doesn’t sound as if Piker is interested in mainstream political office. He makes occasional media guest spots, but he’s not tempted further into traditional media, he says. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from traditional publishers.”

But 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.