🔗 Share this article ‘I relish when my enemies despise me’: how Hasan Piker became among the largest figures on the US political left Hasan Piker calls it the bus driver test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have half a minute to explain whatever online phenomena unfolded to the bus driver before them looking at you and saying, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” Most online discourse, regardless of how intense, does not pass the test, he says – not least an incident 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!” Forget the bus driver; trying to explain the significance of this particular event could easily take the remainder of this article. Occupying the In-Between Zone Piker finds himself in this gray area increasingly these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was familiar only to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their twenties and thirties, mostly thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “the real world” for his views on the struggling political left, and especially that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men. A Prime Target 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 direct political views; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – defies typical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid 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,” says 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 getting ready to start his regular 11am show. He typically streams live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking unscripted about current affairs, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and responding to the constant stream of messages from viewers. From The Young Turks to Twitch Establishing himself on Twitch, which is primarily for streaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker explains. His media career began 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 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 provide an alternative to what he saw as dominantly rightwing, and often divisive views that infested the space. “You can find ideological variety amongst the gamers, amongst the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political expression in this hobby is so heavily dominated by the right,” he notes. The Challenge with the American Left This is the fundamental issue with the American left in general, argues Piker: they’ve ceded 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 regularly critical of recent 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 broadly social democratic and “empathy-first”, he explains. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in much of the world.” Controversies and Criticism One of the risks of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his opponents fodder. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch several times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the context of a wider critique, he made a statement about a historic attack that was amplified by conservative media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the language was ill-chosen. Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and condemnation of certain government actions have led to accusations of bias, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing praise for a different major global power, after a trip there. “I have no problem getting attacked by people on the right. I love when my enemies hate me,” he says. “It is what it is.” Offline Repercussions The hate increasingly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by US border agents on his return from travel abroad. They questioned 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 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 “the collar incident.” Even a major animal rights organization issued 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 shared with his reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said. The Divide Between Online and Offline Worlds This highlights the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very hard to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world without coming across as unhinged 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 harrowing example of where this online hate can end up. Piker watched the event develop in real time on his stream. Piker still do real-life streams in the US. “I can’t let fear dictate my life. I’ve gotten death threats for years,” he says. Unhealthy parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he accepts. Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded Having been prescient about a recent election, how does Piker view the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite quickly, but if you look at the avenues where there is some semblance of hope, it’s the progressive candidates that are actually truly galvanising the public,” he says. He references 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 periodic media guest spots, 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 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 awaits, and he’s itching to get started.
Hasan Piker calls it the bus driver test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have half a minute to explain whatever online phenomena unfolded to the bus driver before them looking at you and saying, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” Most online discourse, regardless of how intense, does not pass the test, he says – not least an incident 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!” Forget the bus driver; trying to explain the significance of this particular event could easily take the remainder of this article. Occupying the In-Between Zone Piker finds himself in this gray area increasingly these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was familiar only to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their twenties and thirties, mostly thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “the real world” for his views on the struggling political left, and especially that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men. A Prime Target 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 direct political views; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – defies typical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid 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,” says 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 getting ready to start his regular 11am show. He typically streams live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking unscripted about current affairs, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and responding to the constant stream of messages from viewers. From The Young Turks to Twitch Establishing himself on Twitch, which is primarily for streaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker explains. His media career began 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 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 provide an alternative to what he saw as dominantly rightwing, and often divisive views that infested the space. “You can find ideological variety amongst the gamers, amongst the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political expression in this hobby is so heavily dominated by the right,” he notes. The Challenge with the American Left This is the fundamental issue with the American left in general, argues Piker: they’ve ceded 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 regularly critical of recent 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 broadly social democratic and “empathy-first”, he explains. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in much of the world.” Controversies and Criticism One of the risks of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his opponents fodder. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch several times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the context of a wider critique, he made a statement about a historic attack that was amplified by conservative media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the language was ill-chosen. Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and condemnation of certain government actions have led to accusations of bias, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing praise for a different major global power, after a trip there. “I have no problem getting attacked by people on the right. I love when my enemies hate me,” he says. “It is what it is.” Offline Repercussions The hate increasingly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by US border agents on his return from travel abroad. They questioned 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 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 “the collar incident.” Even a major animal rights organization issued 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 shared with his reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said. The Divide Between Online and Offline Worlds This highlights the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very hard to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world without coming across as unhinged 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 harrowing example of where this online hate can end up. Piker watched the event develop in real time on his stream. Piker still do real-life streams in the US. “I can’t let fear dictate my life. I’ve gotten death threats for years,” he says. Unhealthy parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he accepts. Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded Having been prescient about a recent election, how does Piker view the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite quickly, but if you look at the avenues where there is some semblance of hope, it’s the progressive candidates that are actually truly galvanising the public,” he says. He references 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 periodic media guest spots, 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 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 awaits, and he’s itching to get started.