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

Hasan Piker dubs it an everyday benchmark: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have 30 seconds to explain any online phenomena occurred to the bus driver without them turning to you and saying, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” Most online debate, regardless of how fiery, fails the test, he says – not least an incident 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; attempting to explain the meaning of this particular event could easily take the rest of this article.

Navigating the In-Between Space

Piker finds himself in this gray area more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was familiar only to the digitally immersed, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, largely thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has become an sought-after voice in “the real world” for his views on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that constantly discussed demographic, young men.

A Favorite Target for the Political Right

Unsurprisingly, this also positions Piker a prime target of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot to dislike: his blunt political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – defies typical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid his appearance in shirtless magazine spreads or social media posts.

“To be frank, I had no clue that this is what I was going to be doing,” says 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 the morning and he’s getting ready to start his daily late morning show. He typically broadcasts live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking improvised about the news, lifestyle stories, his personal life, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and responding to the never-ending stream of comments from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Twitch

Building himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for livestreaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker explains. His media career began 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 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 provide an alternative to what he saw as dominantly conservative, and often divisive views that infested the space.

“You can find ideological diversity among the gamers, amongst the developers, among the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political expression in this hobby 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, argues Piker: they’ve ceded so many cultural spaces to the right. “You still have to market your ideas … but they simply completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is consistently sharply critical of recent administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is no loyal member of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are generally social democratic and “compassion-driven”, he clarifies. “My viewpoint is actually the normal position in most of the world.”

Controversies and Criticism

One of the risks of Piker’s type of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his critics fodder. He has been suspended from Twitch several times for perceived offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the context of a broader critique, he made a comment about a national tragedy that was seized upon by right-wing media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the language was inappropriate.

Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and criticism of certain government actions have led to allegations of prejudice, which he denies. He has also been mocked for expressing praise for another 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.”

Real-World Consequences

The vitriol increasingly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by American border agents on his return from travel abroad. They interrogated 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 started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, made a noise suddenly. Online detractors jumped to the conclusion that Piker was mistreating 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 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 shocked,” he said.

The Difference Between Online and Real Worlds

This highlights the difference 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 hysterical and odd. Exchanges on the internet foster this environment where you can be as aggressive as you want.”

That Dublin encounter was fairly low stakes. In the US, he admits to feeling less safe. The fatal shooting 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 continues to do real-life streams in the US. “I can’t let fear guide my life. I’ve gotten death threats for over a decade,” he says. Toxic parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he acknowledges.

Looking Ahead and Finding Balance

Having been accurate about the last 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 left candidates that are actually truly 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 everything in my power to try and avoid a worse 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 periodic media guest spots, but he’s not drawn further into legacy media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.”

And on top of that, he still enjoys it: “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.