From Digital Commentator to Ideological Figurehead: The Ascent of Hasan Piker

Hasan Piker dubs it an everyday benchmark: “You get on a bus and you have a brief moment to clarify any online phenomena took place to the bus driver without them looking at you and saying, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” Most online conversation, no matter how fiery, fails the test, he argues – including an incident recently, when someone on a Dublin street requested to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; attempting to explain the meaning of that specific event could easily take the rest of this article.

Existing in the Blurred Zone

Piker operates in this in-between space more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the thirty-four-year-old was known primarily to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their twenties and thirties, largely thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an sought-after voice in “traditional media” for his analysis on the struggling political left, and especially that constantly discussed demographic, young men.

A Favorite Target for the Political Right

Predictably, this also makes Piker a favorite target of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot to criticize: his blunt political stances; his cultural background; his allegiances with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – defies stereotypical lefty stereotypes. He has leveraged his appearance in revealing magazine photoshoots 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 imagine that you’d become a Twitch streamer? I’d be like, what is Twitch?”

It’s early and he’s getting ready to start his daily late morning show. He usually broadcasts live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking unscripted about current affairs, pop culture, what he’s up to, 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

Establishing 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. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he grew up 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 provide an alternative to what he saw as overwhelmingly rightwing, and often toxic views that infested the space.

“You can find ideological variety among the gamers, amongst the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political commentary in this hobby is so heavily dominated by the right,” he notes.

The Challenge with the American Left

This is the fundamental problem with the American left in general, says Piker: they’ve relinquished so many arenas to the right. “You still have to promote your ideas … but they simply completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is consistently sharply critical of past 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 democratic and “compassion-driven”, he explains. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in most of the world.”

Controversies and Criticism

One of the dangers of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives his opponents ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple times for deemed 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 apologised and said the language was inappropriate.

Similarly, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinians and criticism of certain government actions have led to accusations of prejudice, which he denies. He has also been mocked for expressing admiration for a different 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 Repercussions

The vitriol constantly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by US border agents on his return from travel abroad. They questioned him about his views 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, yelped suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the ambush 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 reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said.

The Difference Between Online and Offline Worlds

This highlights the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very hard to maintain a very negative 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 conservative commentator served as a harrowing example of where this online hate can end up. 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. Toxic parasocial relationships come with the territory, he acknowledges.

Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded

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 glimmer of hope, it’s the progressive candidates that are actually really galvanising the public,” he says. He references the progressive “wing”.

“We have to embrace 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 avoid a worse alternative.”

The American left could arguably do with someone like Piker. But it doesn’t sound as if Piker is interested in traditional political office. He makes periodic media appearances, but he’s not tempted further into legacy media, he says. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.”

And 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 awaits, and he’s itching to get started.