🔗 Share this article From Online Streamer to Ideological Figurehead: The Ascent of Hasan Piker Hasan Piker refers to it an everyday benchmark: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have a brief moment to describe any online phenomena occurred to the bus driver before them looking at you and going, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” Most online conversation, no matter how heated, fails the test, he says – including an incident last weekend, when a person on a Dublin street requested to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; attempting to explain the meaning of this particular event could easily take the remainder of this article. Existing in the Blurred Space Piker operates in this gray area more and more these days. Until fairly recently, the 34-year-old was familiar only to the very online, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “offline circles” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that inordinately discussed demographic, young men. A Prime Hate Figure for the Right Unsurprisingly, this also positions Piker a prime target of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot to criticize: his outspoken political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his associations with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – does not fit stereotypical lefty caricatures. He has leveraged his physique in revealing magazine spreads 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 late morning show. He typically streams live for seven to eight hours straight, talking unscripted about the news, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and responding to the constant stream of comments from viewers. Beginning at The Young Turks to Twitch Building himself on Twitch, which is primarily for livestreaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker says. His media career started out with The Young Turks, the progressive online news network. His 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 counterbalance what he saw as overwhelmingly conservative, and often divisive views that infested the space. “You can find ideological variety among the gamers, amongst the developers, among the consumers, but sadly, the market for political commentary in this arena is so heavily dominated by the right,” he notes. The Problem with the American Left This is the core problem with the American left in broad terms, says Piker: they’ve conceded so many arenas to the right. “You still have to market your ideas … but they simply completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.” Piker is consistently critical of recent administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal supporter of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “compassion-driven”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the standard position in most of the world.” Controversies and Backlash One of the risks of Piker’s style of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his critics ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple times for deemed offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the framework of a broader critique, he made a statement about a national tragedy that was amplified by right-wing media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was ill-chosen. Likewise, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinians and criticism of certain government actions have led to accusations of prejudice, which he strongly rejects. He has also been ridiculed for expressing admiration 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 says. “It is what it is.” Offline Consequences The vitriol constantly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by American border agents on his re-entry from travel abroad. They questioned him about his political opinions 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 started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, yelped suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was harming the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent 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 disseminated with his response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said. The Difference Between Online and Offline 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 foster this environment where you can be as hostile 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 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 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 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 glimmer 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 critical importance at this point,” he adds. “So I will do everything in my power to try and avoid a dark alternative.” The American left could perhaps 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 tempted further into legacy media, he says. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from traditional publishers.” And on top of that, he clearly finds it fulfilling: “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 itching to get started.
Hasan Piker refers to it an everyday benchmark: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have a brief moment to describe any online phenomena occurred to the bus driver before them looking at you and going, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” Most online conversation, no matter how heated, fails the test, he says – including an incident last weekend, when a person on a Dublin street requested to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; attempting to explain the meaning of this particular event could easily take the remainder of this article. Existing in the Blurred Space Piker operates in this gray area more and more these days. Until fairly recently, the 34-year-old was familiar only to the very online, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “offline circles” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that inordinately discussed demographic, young men. A Prime Hate Figure for the Right Unsurprisingly, this also positions Piker a prime target of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot to criticize: his outspoken political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his associations with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – does not fit stereotypical lefty caricatures. He has leveraged his physique in revealing magazine spreads 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 late morning show. He typically streams live for seven to eight hours straight, talking unscripted about the news, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and responding to the constant stream of comments from viewers. Beginning at The Young Turks to Twitch Building himself on Twitch, which is primarily for livestreaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker says. His media career started out with The Young Turks, the progressive online news network. His 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 counterbalance what he saw as overwhelmingly conservative, and often divisive views that infested the space. “You can find ideological variety among the gamers, amongst the developers, among the consumers, but sadly, the market for political commentary in this arena is so heavily dominated by the right,” he notes. The Problem with the American Left This is the core problem with the American left in broad terms, says Piker: they’ve conceded so many arenas to the right. “You still have to market your ideas … but they simply completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.” Piker is consistently critical of recent administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal supporter of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “compassion-driven”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the standard position in most of the world.” Controversies and Backlash One of the risks of Piker’s style of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his critics ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple times for deemed offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the framework of a broader critique, he made a statement about a national tragedy that was amplified by right-wing media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was ill-chosen. Likewise, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinians and criticism of certain government actions have led to accusations of prejudice, which he strongly rejects. He has also been ridiculed for expressing admiration 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 says. “It is what it is.” Offline Consequences The vitriol constantly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by American border agents on his re-entry from travel abroad. They questioned him about his political opinions 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 started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, yelped suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was harming the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent 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 disseminated with his response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said. The Difference Between Online and Offline 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 foster this environment where you can be as hostile 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 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 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 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 glimmer 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 critical importance at this point,” he adds. “So I will do everything in my power to try and avoid a dark alternative.” The American left could perhaps 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 tempted further into legacy media, he says. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from traditional publishers.” And on top of that, he clearly finds it fulfilling: “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 itching to get started.