‘I adore when my adversaries despise me’: how Hasan Piker became a leading the most prominent personalities on the American political left

Hasan Piker dubs it an everyday benchmark: “You get on a bus and you have 30 seconds to describe whatever online event occurred to the bus driver before them turning to you and going, ‘Get off the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online debate, regardless of 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 held up 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 remainder of this article.

Navigating the In-Between Space

Piker operates in this in-between space increasingly these days. Until relatively recently, the thirty-four-year-old was familiar only to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their twenties and thirties, largely thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has become an in-demand voice in “traditional media” for his views on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Favorite Target for the Right

Predictably, this also positions Piker a prime target of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to dislike: his outspoken political stances; his cultural background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – defies stereotypical lefty stereotypes. 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 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 daily 11am show. He typically broadcasts live for seven or eight hours straight, talking improvised 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

Establishing himself on Twitch, which is primarily for livestreaming video games, was a deliberate 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 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 rightwing, and often toxic views that permeated the space.

“You can find ideological variety among 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 says.

The Challenge with the American Left

This is the fundamental problem 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 just completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is consistently critical of past administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal member of the major center-left party. His own politics are generally social democratic and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the normal position in much of the world.”

Controversies and Backlash

One of the risks of Piker’s type of informal, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his opponents fodder. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple times for perceived offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the context of a wider critique, he made a statement about a historic attack that was amplified by conservative media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the wording was ill-chosen.

Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and condemnation of certain government actions have led to accusations of prejudice, which he strongly rejects. He has also been mocked for expressing praise for a different major global power, after a trip there.

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

Real-World Repercussions

The hate increasingly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by US border agents on his return from a trip. They interrogated 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 started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, made a noise suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was harming the animal, igniting a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a major animal rights organization put out 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 disseminated with his reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said.

The Difference Between Digital and Offline Worlds

This illustrates the chasm 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 unhinged 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 right-wing commentator served as a shocking 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 parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he acknowledges.

Looking Ahead and Finding Balance

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 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 critical importance at this point,” he continues. “So I will do anything in my power to try and prevent a dark 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. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.”

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