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

Hasan Piker dubs it a simple litmus test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have a brief moment to clarify any online event took place to the bus driver without them looking at you and saying, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” Most online discourse, regardless of how fiery, does not pass the test, he says – not least a strange event last weekend, when a person on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; trying to explain the significance of this particular event might well take the remainder of this article.

Occupying the Gray Space

Piker increasingly exists in this gray area more and more 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 following a recent presidential election, Piker has become 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 makes Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his detractors there is a lot to criticize: his direct political views; his Turkish, Muslim background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – defies typical lefty stereotypes. He has not been afraid 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 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 usually streams live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking off the cuff 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 Twitch

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. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he grew up 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 chose to go solo on Twitch, to counterbalance what he saw as dominantly rightwing, and often divisive views that infested the space.

“You can find ideological diversity amongst the gamers, amongst the developers, among the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political expression 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 general, argues Piker: they’ve conceded so many arenas 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 consistently critical of recent administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal supporter of the major center-left party. His own politics are generally social democrat and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the standard position in most of the world.”

Firestorms and Backlash

One of the risks of Piker’s type of relaxed, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which provides his opponents ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch several times for deemed offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the framework of a wider critique, he made a statement about a historic attack that was seized upon by right-wing media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the language was ill-chosen.

Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and condemnation of certain government actions have led to allegations of bias, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing praise for another 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.”

Offline Consequences

The vitriol increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained 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, made a noise suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists swiftly concluded that Piker was harming the animal, sparking a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a prominent animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the ambush by a stranger in Dublin.

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

The Divide Between Digital and Real Worlds

This highlights the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very hard to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world and not coming across as unhinged and odd. Interactions on the internet foster this environment where you can be as aggressive as you want.”

That Dublin encounter was relatively low stakes. In the US, he feels less safe. The assassination of a right-wing 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 dictate my life. I’ve gotten death threats for over a decade,” he says. Unhealthy parasocial relationships come with the territory, he acknowledges.

Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded

Having been accurate about a recent election, how does Piker view the next few years? “The landscape shifts 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 “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 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 traditional political office. He makes periodic media guest spots, but he’s not tempted further into traditional media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.”

And on top of that, he clearly enjoys it: “I find a lot of personal 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.