‘I love when my foes despise me’: how Hasan Piker emerged as one of the largest voices on the American left

Hasan Piker refers to it an everyday benchmark: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have a brief moment to describe whatever online phenomena took place to the bus driver without them turning to you and going, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” Most online conversation, no matter how fiery, does not pass the test, he argues – including an incident recently, 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 that specific event might well take the rest of this article.

Navigating the Gray Zone

Piker operates in this in-between space increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the 34-year-old was known only to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has become an sought-after voice in “traditional media” for his perspectives on the beleaguered political left, and especially that constantly discussed demographic, young men.

A Prime Target for the Political Right

Unsurprisingly, this also positions Piker a prime hate figure of the political right. To his c critics there is a lot to dislike: his direct political views; his Turkish, Muslim background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – defies stereotypical lefty stereotypes. 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,” 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 early and he’s preparing to start his daily late morning show. He usually streams live for seven to eight hours straight, talking unscripted about the news, lifestyle stories, his personal life, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending stream of comments from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Establishing himself on Twitch, which is primarily for livestreaming 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 majoring in political science. He graduated to 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 overwhelmingly rightwing, and often toxic views that infested the space.

“There’s a lot of ideological variety among the gamers, amongst 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 Challenge with the American Left

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

Piker is regularly critical of recent administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal supporter of the major center-left party. His own politics are generally social democratic and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the standard position in much of the world.”

Firestorms and Backlash

One of the risks of Piker’s type of informal, relatable commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his critics ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch several times for perceived offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the context of a broader critique, he made a comment about a historic attack that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was inappropriate.

Likewise, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain government actions have led to accusations of prejudice, which he strongly rejects. 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 love when my enemies hate me,” he says. “It is what it is.”

Real-World Repercussions

The vitriol constantly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by American border agents on his re-entry from a trip. They interrogated 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 hostility 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, igniting a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a prominent animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the ambush by a random in Dublin.

Piker took that encounter 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 shocked,” he said.

The Difference Between Digital and Real Worlds

This highlights the difference between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world and not 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 assassination of a conservative 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 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. Toxic one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he accepts.

The Future and Staying Grounded

Having been accurate about a recent election, how does Piker view the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite quickly, but if you look at the areas where there is some semblance of hope, it’s the progressive candidates that are actually really 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 anything 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 tempted in mainstream political office. He makes occasional media guest spots, but he’s not drawn further into legacy media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.”

But on top of that, he clearly 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 lengthy live stream is about to begin, and he’s itching to get started.