‘I adore when my adversaries loathe me’: the way Hasan Piker became a leading the biggest figures on the American left

Hasan Piker calls it a simple litmus test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have half a minute to explain any online phenomena unfolded to the bus driver before them turning to you and going, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” Most online debate, no matter how fiery, fails the test, he argues – including a strange event last weekend, when someone on a Dublin street asked 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 significance of that specific event could easily take the remainder of this article.

Existing in the In-Between Zone

Piker increasingly exists in this liminal zone increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was familiar only 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 sought-after voice in “offline circles” for his perspectives on the struggling political left, and specifically that inordinately discussed demographic, young men.

A Favorite Hate Figure for the Political Right

Predictably, this also positions Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his enemies there is plenty to criticize: his direct political stances; his cultural background; his associations with progressive politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – does not fit typical lefty stereotypes. He has leveraged his physique in shirtless magazine photoshoots or social media posts.

“To be frank, I had no clue that this is what I was going to be doing,” states Piker. “For instance, 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 usually streams live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking improvised about the news, lifestyle stories, his personal life, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the constant stream of messages from viewers.

From The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Establishing 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 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 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, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political expression in this arena is so overwhelmingly 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 arenas to the right. “You still have to market your ideas … but they just completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is consistently sharply critical of recent administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal member of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are generally social democrat and “empathy-first”, he explains. “My viewpoint is actually the normal position in most of the world.”

Firestorms and Criticism

One of the dangers of Piker’s style of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his opponents ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch several times for deemed offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the context of a broader critique, he made a statement about a historic attack that was amplified by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the language was inappropriate.

Likewise, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain government actions have led to allegations of prejudice, which he denies. He has also been mocked for expressing praise for another 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.”

Offline Consequences

The hate increasingly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by US border agents on his re-entry from travel abroad. They questioned him about his views before releasing him. “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, yelped suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists swiftly concluded 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 shared with his reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said.

The Divide Between Online and Offline Worlds

This highlights the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very hard to maintain a very negative energy in the real world without coming across as hysterical and odd. Exchanges 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 right-wing commentator served as 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 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.

Looking Ahead and Finding Balance

Having been prescient about the last election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “Things change quite rapidly, but if you look at the avenues where there is some glimmer of hope, it’s the left 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 arguably do with someone like Piker. But it doesn’t sound as if Piker is interested in traditional political office. He makes occasional media appearances, but he’s not tempted further into legacy media, he says. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.”

But on top of that, he still 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 is about to begin, and he’s itching to get started.