‘I love when my adversaries hate me’: the way Hasan Piker rose to become one of the largest voices on the American left

Hasan Piker dubs it a simple litmus test: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have 30 seconds to clarify whatever online event unfolded to the bus driver before them looking at you and saying, ‘Get off the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online conversation, no matter 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 importance of this particular event might well take the remainder of this article.

Existing in the Blurred Zone

Piker operates in this gray area increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was known primarily to the very online, especially Americans in their twenties and thirties, largely thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following the last 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 Prime Target for the Right

Predictably, this also makes Piker a favorite target of the political right. To his enemies there is plenty to dislike: his direct political views; 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 leveraged his physique in shirtless 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 imagine 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 usually broadcasts live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking unscripted about current affairs, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and interacting with the constant stream of messages from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Twitch

Building himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for streaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker explains. His media career began 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 decided to go solo on Twitch, to provide an alternative to what he saw as dominantly conservative, and often toxic views that permeated the space.

“There’s a lot of ideological variety amongst the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political expression in this hobby is so overwhelmingly dominated by the right,” he says.

The Problem with the American Left

This is the core issue with the American left in general, says Piker: they’ve ceded so many cultural spaces to the right. “You absolutely have to market your ideas … but they simply completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is consistently critical of recent 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 democrat and “empathy-first”, he explains. “My position is actually the normal position in most of the world.”

Firestorms and Criticism

One of the risks of Piker’s type of informal, relatable commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which provides his critics fodder. He has been suspended from Twitch several times for perceived offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the framework 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 ill-chosen.

Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain state policies have led to allegations of bias, which he denies. He has also been mocked for expressing praise for a different major global power, after a trip there.

“I have no problem getting attacked by people on the right. I love when my enemies hate me,” he says. “It is what it is.”

Real-World Consequences

The vitriol increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by American border agents on his return from a trip. They questioned him about his political opinions 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 started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, yelped suddenly. Online detractors jumped to the conclusion that Piker was mistreating the animal, sparking a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “collargate.” 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 edited from his live stream and disseminated with his response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said.

The Difference Between Online and Real Worlds

This highlights the difference between the offline and online worlds, he says: “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 fairly low stakes. In the US, he admits to feeling less safe. The assassination of a right-wing 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 guide my life. I’ve gotten death threats for years,” he says. Unhealthy parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he accepts.

The Future 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 avenues where there is some semblance of hope, it’s the progressive candidates that are actually truly galvanising the public,” he says. He points to the progressive “left flank”.

“We have to lean into that, because I feel like it’s a matter of life or death 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 mainstream political office. He makes periodic media appearances, but he’s not drawn further into traditional media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.”

But on top of that, he still 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 marathon live stream is about to begin, and he’s eager to get started.