From Online Streamer to Ideological Lightning Rod: The Rise of Hasan Piker

Hasan Piker refers to it the bus driver test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have a brief moment to explain whatever online drama took place to the bus driver without them turning to you and going, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online conversation, no matter how heated, does not pass the test, he says – including a strange event recently, when someone on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; attempting to explain the importance of this particular event could easily take the remainder of this article.

Occupying the In-Between Space

Piker increasingly exists in this liminal zone more and more these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was known only to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following the last presidential election, Piker has become an sought-after voice in “traditional media” for his perspectives on the struggling political left, and especially that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Prime Target for the Political Right

Predictably, this also positions Piker a prime target of the political right. To his enemies there is plenty to dislike: his direct political views; his cultural background; his associations with progressive 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 revealing 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 imagine that you’d become a Twitch streamer? I’d be like, what is Twitch?”

It’s the morning and he’s preparing to start his daily 11am show. He usually streams live for seven or eight hours straight, talking unscripted about the news, lifestyle stories, his personal life, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending stream of messages from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Building himself on Twitch, which is primarily for streaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker explains. His media career began with The Young Turks, the progressive online news network. Piker’s 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 counterbalance what he saw as dominantly rightwing, and often divisive views that permeated the space.

“You can find ideological diversity among the gamers, amongst the developers, among the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political commentary in this arena is so heavily dominated by the right,” he says.

The Problem with the American Left

This is the core issue with the American left in general, argues Piker: they’ve relinquished so many battlegrounds to the right. “You still have to promote your ideas … but they just completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is consistently critical of past 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 democrat and “compassion-driven”, he explains. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in most of the world.”

Controversies and Criticism

One of the dangers of Piker’s type of informal, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides 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 comment about a historic attack that was amplified by right-wing media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was inappropriate.

Likewise, 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 a different 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.”

Offline Consequences

The vitriol constantly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by US border agents on his re-entry 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 started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, made a noise suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent 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 edited from his live stream and shared with his response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said.

The Divide Between Online and Real Worlds

This highlights the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very negative energy in the real world without coming across as hysterical and odd. Exchanges on the internet create 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 fatal shooting of a right-wing commentator was a harrowing example of where this online hate can end up. 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 years,” he says. Unhealthy one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he acknowledges.

Looking Ahead and Finding Balance

Having been prescient about a recent election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “Things change quite quickly, 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 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 adds. “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 traditional political office. He makes occasional media guest spots, but he’s not tempted further into legacy media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from traditional publishers.”

But 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 marathon live stream is about to begin, and he’s itching to get started.