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

Hasan Piker dubs it an everyday benchmark: “You get on a bus and you have a brief moment to clarify whatever online event unfolded to the bus driver before them turning to you and going, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” Most online conversation, regardless of how heated, fails the test, he says – including an incident recently, when a person on a Dublin street requested to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; attempting to explain the meaning of that specific event might well take the remainder of this article.

Occupying the In-Between Zone

Piker operates in this liminal zone increasingly these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was familiar primarily to the very online, especially Americans in their 20s and 30s, largely thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But since the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “traditional media” for his analysis on the struggling political left, and especially that inordinately discussed demographic, young men.

A Favorite Target for the Political Right

Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a favorite hate figure of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to criticize: his direct political views; his cultural background; his allegiances with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – defies stereotypical lefty caricatures. He has leveraged 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 imagine that you’d become a Twitch streamer? I’d be like, what is Twitch?”

It’s early and he’s preparing to start his daily late morning show. He usually streams live for seven or eight hours straight, talking unscripted about the news, lifestyle stories, his personal life, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and responding to the never-ending stream of comments from viewers.

From The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Establishing himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for streaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker explains. His media career began with The Young Turks, the progressive 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 decided to go solo on Twitch, to provide an alternative to what he saw as overwhelmingly rightwing, 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 sadly, the market for political commentary in this hobby is so overwhelmingly dominated by the right,” he notes.

The Problem with the American Left

This is the fundamental problem with the American left in general, argues Piker: they’ve relinquished so many cultural spaces to the right. “You absolutely have to promote your ideas … but they just completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is regularly critical of past administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is no loyal supporter of the major center-left party. His own politics are generally social democratic and “empathy-first”, he explains. “My position is actually the normal position in most of the world.”

Controversies and Criticism

One of the dangers of Piker’s type of relaxed, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his opponents ammunition. 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 statement about a national tragedy that was amplified by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the language was ill-chosen.

Similarly, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinians and condemnation of certain government actions have led to accusations of bias, which he strongly rejects. He has also been mocked for expressing admiration for a different major global power, after a trip there.

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

Real-World Consequences

The hate constantly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by US border agents on his re-entry from travel abroad. They questioned 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 originated from a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, made a noise suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists jumped to the conclusion that Piker was mistreating 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 random in Dublin.

Piker handled the situation in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was edited from his live stream and shared 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 illustrates the chasm 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 unhinged and odd. Interactions 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 fatal shooting of a conservative commentator served as a harrowing example of where this online hate can lead. 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 years,” he says. Unhealthy one-sided fan dynamics come with the territory, he accepts.

Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded

Having been accurate about the last election, how does Piker view 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 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 critical importance at this point,” he continues. “So I will do anything in my power to try and avoid a worse alternative.”

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

And 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 lengthy live stream awaits, and he’s eager to get started.