‘I relish when my enemies hate me’: how Hasan Piker emerged as one of the biggest figures on the US political left

Hasan Piker calls it an everyday benchmark: “You get on a bus and you have a brief moment to explain whatever online event occurred to the bus driver without them looking at you and going, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online conversation, no matter how intense, fails the test, he says – including a strange event last weekend, when someone on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; attempting to explain the importance of this particular event might well take the rest of this article.

Navigating the Gray Space

Piker finds himself in this gray area increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the 34-year-old was known only to the digitally immersed, particularly Americans in their twenties and thirties, largely thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has become an sought-after voice in “offline circles” for his analysis on the struggling political left, and especially that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Favorite Hate Figure for the Right

Predictably, this also makes Piker a favorite target of the political right. To his c critics there is a lot to criticize: 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 – does not fit typical lefty caricatures. He has leveraged his appearance in revealing 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. “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 early and he’s getting ready to start his daily late morning show. He typically broadcasts live for seven or eight hours straight, talking improvised about the news, lifestyle stories, his personal life, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and interacting with the constant stream of comments from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Twitch

Establishing 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 left-leaning online news network. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he grew up between New Jersey and Istanbul before studying 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 overwhelmingly rightwing, and often divisive views that permeated the space.

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

The Challenge with the American Left

This is the core problem with the American left in general, says Piker: they’ve ceded so many cultural spaces to the right. “You still have to promote your ideas … but they just completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is consistently sharply critical of past administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal member of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the normal position in most of the world.”

Controversies and Criticism

One of the dangers of Piker’s style of informal, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his critics fodder. He has been suspended from Twitch multiple times for perceived offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the framework of a broader critique, he made a comment about a national tragedy that was amplified by conservative media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the language was ill-chosen.

Likewise, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinian rights and condemnation of certain state policies have led to allegations of prejudice, 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 attacked by people on the right. I love when my enemies hate me,” he states. “It is what it is.”

Offline Repercussions

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 releasing him. “I think they did it because they know who I am,” he said.

These levels of hostility 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 mistreating the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a major animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the ambush by a random in Dublin.

Piker took that encounter in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was edited from his live stream and shared with his reply 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 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 feels less safe. The assassination of a conservative commentator was a shocking example of where this online hate can lead. 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 dictate my life. I’ve gotten death threats for over a decade,” he says. Toxic parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he accepts.

Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded

Having been accurate about a recent election, how does Piker view the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite quickly, but if you look at the avenues 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 “left flank”.

“We have to embrace 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 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 periodic media guest spots, but he’s not drawn 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 emotional fulfilment in what I do.” As he’s talking, he’s got one eye on the clock. Another marathon live stream awaits, and he’s eager to get started.