🔗 Share this article From Online Commentator to Political Lightning Rod: The Ascent of Hasan Piker Hasan Piker calls it an everyday benchmark: “You get on a bus and you have a brief moment to explain whatever online event took place to the bus driver before them looking at you and going, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” Most online conversation, regardless of how intense, does not pass the test, he argues – not least a strange event recently, 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 importance of this particular event might well take the remainder of this article. Occupying the Gray Zone Piker finds himself in this liminal zone more and more these days. Until fairly recently, the 34-year-old was familiar primarily to the very online, especially Americans in their twenties and thirties, mostly thanks to his 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 specifically that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men. A Favorite Hate Figure for the Right Predictably, this also positions Piker a prime target of the political right. To his c critics there is a lot to dislike: his outspoken political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – does not fit stereotypical lefty stereotypes. He has not been afraid his physique in shirtless magazine spreads or social media posts. “I’ll be honest, 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 imagine that you’d become a Twitch streamer? I’d be like, what is Twitch?” It’s the morning and he’s preparing to start his daily late morning show. He usually streams live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking unscripted about the news, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending stream of comments from viewers. Beginning at The Young Turks to Solo Streaming Building 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 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 decided to go solo on Twitch, to counterbalance what he saw as dominantly rightwing, and often divisive views that permeated the space. “You can find ideological diversity amongst the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political commentary in this hobby is so heavily dominated by the right,” he says. The Problem with the American Left This is the core issue with the American left in general, argues Piker: they’ve ceded so many battlegrounds to the right. “You absolutely have to market your ideas … but they just completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.” Piker is consistently critical of recent administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is no loyal member of the major center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the normal position in much of the world.” Controversies and Backlash One of the dangers of Piker’s style of relaxed, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his critics fodder. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple times for perceived offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the context of a wider critique, he made a comment about a historic attack that was amplified by right-wing media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the wording was ill-chosen. Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain state policies have led to allegations of prejudice, which he denies. 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 love when my enemies hate me,” he says. “It is what it is.” Offline Repercussions The hate constantly 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 political opinions before releasing him. “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, yelped suddenly. Online detractors jumped to the conclusion that Piker was mistreating the animal, sparking a online controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a prominent 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 clipped from his live stream and shared with his response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said. The Difference Between Online and Real Worlds This illustrates 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 hysterical 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 admits to feeling 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 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 come with the territory, he accepts. Looking Ahead and Finding Balance 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 lean into that, because I feel like it’s a matter of critical importance at this point,” he adds. “So I will do anything in my power to try and avoid a dark 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 occasional media appearances, but he’s not tempted further into traditional media, he says. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from traditional publishers.” And on top of that, he clearly 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 is about to begin, and he’s eager to get started.
Hasan Piker calls it an everyday benchmark: “You get on a bus and you have a brief moment to explain whatever online event took place to the bus driver before them looking at you and going, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” Most online conversation, regardless of how intense, does not pass the test, he argues – not least a strange event recently, 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 importance of this particular event might well take the remainder of this article. Occupying the Gray Zone Piker finds himself in this liminal zone more and more these days. Until fairly recently, the 34-year-old was familiar primarily to the very online, especially Americans in their twenties and thirties, mostly thanks to his 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 specifically that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men. A Favorite Hate Figure for the Right Predictably, this also positions Piker a prime target of the political right. To his c critics there is a lot to dislike: his outspoken political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – does not fit stereotypical lefty stereotypes. He has not been afraid his physique in shirtless magazine spreads or social media posts. “I’ll be honest, 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 imagine that you’d become a Twitch streamer? I’d be like, what is Twitch?” It’s the morning and he’s preparing to start his daily late morning show. He usually streams live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking unscripted about the news, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending stream of comments from viewers. Beginning at The Young Turks to Solo Streaming Building 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 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 decided to go solo on Twitch, to counterbalance what he saw as dominantly rightwing, and often divisive views that permeated the space. “You can find ideological diversity amongst the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political commentary in this hobby is so heavily dominated by the right,” he says. The Problem with the American Left This is the core issue with the American left in general, argues Piker: they’ve ceded so many battlegrounds to the right. “You absolutely have to market your ideas … but they just completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.” Piker is consistently critical of recent administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is no loyal member of the major center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the normal position in much of the world.” Controversies and Backlash One of the dangers of Piker’s style of relaxed, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his critics fodder. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple times for perceived offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the context of a wider critique, he made a comment about a historic attack that was amplified by right-wing media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the wording was ill-chosen. Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain state policies have led to allegations of prejudice, which he denies. 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 love when my enemies hate me,” he says. “It is what it is.” Offline Repercussions The hate constantly 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 political opinions before releasing him. “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, yelped suddenly. Online detractors jumped to the conclusion that Piker was mistreating the animal, sparking a online controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a prominent 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 clipped from his live stream and shared with his response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said. The Difference Between Online and Real Worlds This illustrates 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 hysterical 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 admits to feeling 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 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 come with the territory, he accepts. Looking Ahead and Finding Balance 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 lean into that, because I feel like it’s a matter of critical importance at this point,” he adds. “So I will do anything in my power to try and avoid a dark 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 occasional media appearances, but he’s not tempted further into traditional media, he says. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from traditional publishers.” And on top of that, he clearly 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 is about to begin, and he’s eager to get started.