Hasan Piker calls it an everyday benchmark: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have half a minute to explain whatever online event took place to the bus driver without them turning to you and going, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online debate, regardless of how intense, fails 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 shouted “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; attempting to explain the significance of this particular event could easily take the rest of this article.
Piker operates in this in-between space increasingly these days. Until relatively recently, the thirty-four-year-old was known primarily to the digitally immersed, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, largely thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But since the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an sought-after voice in “the real world” for his views on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men.
Unsurprisingly, this also positions Piker a prime hate figure of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot to criticize: his direct political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – defies typical lefty stereotypes. He has not been afraid his physique in revealing magazine spreads or social media posts.
“I’ll be honest, I had no clue that this is what I was going to be doing,” states 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 regular 11am show. He typically broadcasts live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking off the cuff about the news, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending stream of messages from viewers.
Building himself on Twitch, which is primarily for streaming video games, was a deliberate 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 studying political science. He eventually hosted his own show on the network in 2016 but in 2018 he chose to go solo on Twitch, to counterbalance what he saw as dominantly conservative, and often toxic views that infested the space.
“There’s a lot of ideological variety amongst the gamers, amongst the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political expression in this arena is so heavily dominated by the right,” he says.
This is the fundamental issue with the American left in general, argues Piker: they’ve relinquished 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 sharply critical of past administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is no loyal supporter of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democratic and “compassion-driven”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the normal position in most of the world.”
One of the dangers of Piker’s style of informal, relatable commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his opponents fodder. He has been suspended from Twitch several times for perceived offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the context of a wider critique, he made a statement about a national tragedy that was amplified by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was inappropriate.
Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and criticism of certain government actions have led to allegations 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 attacked by people on the right. I relish when my enemies hate me,” he states. “It is what it is.”
The hate constantly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by American border agents on his return from travel abroad. They questioned him about his views before letting him go. “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, yelped suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a prominent animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the ambush by a stranger in Dublin.
Piker handled the situation in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was edited from his live stream and disseminated with his response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said.
This highlights the difference between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very difficult 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 relatively low stakes. In the US, he admits to feeling less safe. The assassination of a right-wing commentator was a shocking example of where this online hate can lead. 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 come with the territory, he acknowledges.
Having been accurate about a recent election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “Things change quite rapidly, 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 references the progressive “wing”.
“We have to lean into that, because I feel like it’s a matter of life or death at this point,” he adds. “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 doesn’t sound as if Piker is interested in mainstream political office. He makes periodic media appearances, but he’s not drawn further into traditional media, he says. “Viewers 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 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 eager to get started.
Elara is a passionate writer and photographer who shares insights on creativity and mindful living through engaging storytelling.
