From Digital Streamer to Ideological Figurehead: The Rise of Hasan Piker

Hasan Piker dubs it a simple litmus test: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have half a minute to describe any online phenomena occurred to the bus driver without them looking at you and saying, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” Most online debate, regardless of how fiery, fails the test, he says – including a strange event last weekend, when someone on a Dublin street requested to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and yelled “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 Blurred Space

Piker increasingly exists in this liminal zone increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was familiar primarily to the digitally immersed, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “the real world” for his views on the struggling political left, and especially that inordinately discussed demographic, young men.

A Prime Target for the Right

Predictably, this also makes Piker a favorite target of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to criticize: his blunt political views; his cultural background; his associations with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – defies typical 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. “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 usually broadcasts live for seven to eight hours straight, talking improvised about current affairs, lifestyle stories, his personal life, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending stream of messages 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 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 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 rightwing, and often divisive views that infested the space.

“You can find ideological variety amongst the gamers, among the developers, amongst 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 fundamental issue with the American left in broad terms, says Piker: they’ve ceded so many cultural spaces to the right. “You absolutely have to promote your ideas … but they just completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is regularly 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 generally social democrat and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My viewpoint is actually the normal position in much of the world.”

Firestorms and Backlash

One of the risks 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 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 amplified by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was inappropriate.

Similarly, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinian rights and condemnation of certain government actions have led to allegations of prejudice, 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 Repercussions

The vitriol increasingly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by US border agents on his return from a trip. They interrogated him about his political opinions before releasing him. “I think they did it because they know who I am,” he said.

These levels of enmity 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 swiftly concluded that Piker was harming the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a major animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the surprise encounter by a random in Dublin.

Piker took that encounter in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was clipped from his live stream and disseminated with his reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said.

The Divide Between Online and Offline Worlds

This illustrates the difference between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very hard to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world without coming across as unhinged and odd. Interactions on the internet create this environment where you can be as hostile as you want.”

That Dublin encounter was relatively low stakes. In the US, he feels less safe. The fatal shooting of a right-wing commentator was 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 years,” he says. Toxic one-sided fan dynamics come with the territory, he acknowledges.

The Future and Finding Balance

Having been accurate about a recent election, how does Piker view the next few years? “Things change 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 “left flank”.

“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 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 tempted in traditional political office. He makes occasional media guest spots, but he’s not drawn further into traditional media, he says. “The audience 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 marathon live stream awaits, and he’s itching to get started.