🔗 Share this article ‘I relish when my enemies despise me’: how Hasan Piker became a leading the most prominent voices on the US left Hasan Piker dubs it an everyday benchmark: “You get on a bus and you have 30 seconds to clarify whatever online phenomena unfolded to the bus driver before them looking at you and saying, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online conversation, regardless of how fiery, fails the test, he argues – not least an incident last weekend, when someone on a Dublin street asked 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 meaning of that specific event might well take the rest of this article. Existing in 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 very online, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But following the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “the real world” for his views on the beleaguered political left, and especially that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men. A Favorite Target for the Right Predictably, this also positions Piker a favorite target of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to dislike: his blunt political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – does not fit stereotypical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid his appearance in shirtless magazine photoshoots 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 ever think 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 11am show. He typically streams live for seven to eight hours straight, talking improvised 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, a platform primarily for livestreaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker says. His media career started out with The Young Turks, the left-leaning online news network. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he grew up between New Jersey and Istanbul before majoring in political science. He eventually hosted his own show on the network in 2016 but in 2018 he chose to go solo on Twitch, to provide an alternative to what he saw as dominantly rightwing, and often toxic views that infested the space. “There’s a lot of ideological diversity among the gamers, amongst the developers, amongst the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political expression in this hobby is so overwhelmingly dominated by the right,” he notes. The Problem with the American Left This is the fundamental problem with the American left in broad terms, argues Piker: they’ve ceded so many battlegrounds to the right. “You still have to market your ideas … but they simply 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 explains. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in much of the world.” Firestorms and Backlash One of the risks of Piker’s style of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives his opponents ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch several times for perceived offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the framework of a broader critique, he made a statement about a national tragedy that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the language was ill-chosen. 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 ridiculed for expressing praise 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 states. “It is what it is.” Real-World Consequences The vitriol increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by US border agents on his return from a trip. They questioned him about his political opinions 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 detractors jumped to the conclusion that Piker was harming the animal, sparking a online controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a prominent animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the ambush 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 hysterical and odd. Interactions on the internet foster this environment where you can be as hostile as you want.” That Dublin encounter was relatively low stakes. In the US, he admits to feeling less safe. The assassination of a conservative commentator was a harrowing 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 guide my life. I’ve gotten death threats for years,” he says. Toxic one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he accepts. The Future and Staying Grounded Having been accurate about the last election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “The landscape shifts 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 “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 anything in my power to try and avoid a worse 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 guest spots, but he’s not tempted further into traditional media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from traditional publishers.” And on top of that, he still 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 is about to begin, and he’s itching to get started.
Hasan Piker dubs it an everyday benchmark: “You get on a bus and you have 30 seconds to clarify whatever online phenomena unfolded to the bus driver before them looking at you and saying, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online conversation, regardless of how fiery, fails the test, he argues – not least an incident last weekend, when someone on a Dublin street asked 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 meaning of that specific event might well take the rest of this article. Existing in 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 very online, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But following the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “the real world” for his views on the beleaguered political left, and especially that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men. A Favorite Target for the Right Predictably, this also positions Piker a favorite target of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to dislike: his blunt political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – does not fit stereotypical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid his appearance in shirtless magazine photoshoots 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 ever think 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 11am show. He typically streams live for seven to eight hours straight, talking improvised 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, a platform primarily for livestreaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker says. His media career started out with The Young Turks, the left-leaning online news network. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he grew up between New Jersey and Istanbul before majoring in political science. He eventually hosted his own show on the network in 2016 but in 2018 he chose to go solo on Twitch, to provide an alternative to what he saw as dominantly rightwing, and often toxic views that infested the space. “There’s a lot of ideological diversity among the gamers, amongst the developers, amongst the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political expression in this hobby is so overwhelmingly dominated by the right,” he notes. The Problem with the American Left This is the fundamental problem with the American left in broad terms, argues Piker: they’ve ceded so many battlegrounds to the right. “You still have to market your ideas … but they simply 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 explains. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in much of the world.” Firestorms and Backlash One of the risks of Piker’s style of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives his opponents ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch several times for perceived offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the framework of a broader critique, he made a statement about a national tragedy that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the language was ill-chosen. 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 ridiculed for expressing praise 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 states. “It is what it is.” Real-World Consequences The vitriol increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by US border agents on his return from a trip. They questioned him about his political opinions 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 detractors jumped to the conclusion that Piker was harming the animal, sparking a online controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a prominent animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the ambush 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 hysterical and odd. Interactions on the internet foster this environment where you can be as hostile as you want.” That Dublin encounter was relatively low stakes. In the US, he admits to feeling less safe. The assassination of a conservative commentator was a harrowing 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 guide my life. I’ve gotten death threats for years,” he says. Toxic one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he accepts. The Future and Staying Grounded Having been accurate about the last election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “The landscape shifts 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 “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 anything in my power to try and avoid a worse 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 guest spots, but he’s not tempted further into traditional media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from traditional publishers.” And on top of that, he still 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 is about to begin, and he’s itching to get started.