‘I love when my foes loathe me’: the way Hasan Piker became among the biggest voices on the US political left

Hasan Piker dubs it a simple litmus test: “You get on a bus and you have 30 seconds to describe whatever online phenomena unfolded to the bus driver without them turning to you and saying, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” Most online debate, regardless of how intense, does not pass the test, he argues – not least a strange event last weekend, when someone on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; trying to explain the significance of that specific event could easily take the rest of this article.

Navigating the Blurred Space

Piker finds himself in this gray area more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was familiar primarily to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their twenties and thirties, largely thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has become an in-demand voice in “the real world” for his views on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Favorite Target for the Right

Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a favorite hate figure of the political right. To his c critics there is plenty to criticize: his outspoken political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances 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 physique in shirtless magazine photoshoots or social media posts.

“I’ll be honest, 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 ever think that you’d become a Twitch streamer? I’d be like, what is Twitch?”

It’s early and he’s getting ready to start his daily late morning show. He typically streams live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking improvised about the news, pop culture, what he’s up to, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending stream of messages from viewers.

From The Young Turks to Twitch

Building himself on Twitch, which is primarily for livestreaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker says. His media career started out with The Young Turks, the left-leaning online news network. Piker’s parents are Turkish immigrants, and he was raised between New Jersey and Istanbul before studying political science. He eventually hosted his own show on the network in 2016 but in 2018 he chose to go solo on Twitch, to provide an alternative to what he saw as dominantly conservative, and often toxic views that infested the space.

“There’s a lot of ideological variety amongst the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political commentary in this arena is so heavily dominated by the right,” he notes.

The Challenge with the American Left

This is the core problem with the American left in broad terms, argues Piker: they’ve ceded so many cultural spaces to the right. “You still 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, particularly on foreign policy, but he is no loyal supporter of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are generally social democrat and “empathy-first”, 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 relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his critics fodder. He has been suspended from Twitch several times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the framework of a wider critique, he made a comment about a historic attack that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the wording was inappropriate.

Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and criticism of certain government actions have led to accusations of prejudice, which he denies. He has also been mocked for expressing admiration for another major global power, after a trip there.

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

Offline Consequences

The hate increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by US border agents on his return from travel abroad. They interrogated him about his views 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 conspiracy theorists jumped to the conclusion that Piker was harming the animal, sparking a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the ambush by a stranger in Dublin.

Piker took that encounter in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was clipped from his live stream and disseminated with his reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said.

The Divide Between Digital 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 admits to feeling less safe. The fatal shooting of a conservative commentator was a shocking example of where this online hate can end up. 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 over a decade,” he says. Toxic one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he acknowledges.

The Future and Staying Grounded

Having been prescient about a recent election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite rapidly, but if you look at the avenues where there is some semblance 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 life or death at this point,” he continues. “So I will do anything in my power to try and avoid 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 appearances, but he’s not drawn further into traditional media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from traditional publishers.”

But on top of that, he still finds it fulfilling: “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 awaits, and he’s eager to get started.