‘I love when my adversaries hate me’: how Hasan Piker rose to become a leading the largest voices on the US political left

Hasan Piker refers to it the bus driver test: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have 30 seconds to describe whatever online event occurred to the bus driver before them looking at you and going, ‘Get off the fucking bus.’” Most online discourse, no matter how intense, does not pass the test, he says – not least a strange event last weekend, when a person on a Dublin street requested to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; trying to explain the meaning of that specific event could easily take the rest 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 primarily to the very online, particularly Americans in their twenties and thirties, mostly thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But since the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an sought-after voice in “the real world” for his perspectives on the struggling political left, and specifically that inordinately discussed demographic, young men.

A Favorite Hate Figure for the Political Right

Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a prime target of the political right. To his c critics there is a lot to dislike: his outspoken political views; his cultural background; his associations with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – does not fit typical lefty stereotypes. He has not been afraid his physique 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 regular 11am show. He usually streams live for seven or eight hours straight, talking off the cuff about current affairs, pop culture, what he’s up to, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and responding to the constant stream of comments from viewers.

From The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Building himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for streaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker explains. His media career started out 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 studying political science. He graduated to 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 conservative, and often divisive views that infested the space.

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

The Challenge with the American Left

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

Piker is regularly critical of past administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is no loyal member of the major center-left party. His own politics are generally social democrat and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the normal position in much of the world.”

Firestorms and Criticism

One of the dangers of Piker’s style of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which provides his opponents ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch several times for deemed offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the framework of a broader critique, he made a statement about a historic attack that was seized upon by right-wing media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was ill-chosen.

Likewise, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinians and criticism of certain state policies have led to allegations of prejudice, which he strongly rejects. He has also been ridiculed for expressing admiration 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 states. “It is what it is.”

Offline Consequences

The hate increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by American border agents on his return from a trip. They questioned him about his views before letting him go. “I think they did it because they are aware of who I am,” he said.

These levels of hostility 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 harming the animal, sparking a online controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a major animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the ambush by a stranger in Dublin.

Piker took that encounter in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was clipped 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 Offline Worlds

This illustrates the difference between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very hard to maintain a very negative energy in the real world without coming across as unhinged and odd. Exchanges on the internet create this environment where you can be as aggressive as you want.”

That Dublin encounter was fairly low stakes. In the US, he feels less safe. The assassination of a conservative commentator served as a harrowing example of where this online hate can end up. 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. Unhealthy parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he acknowledges.

Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded

Having been prescient about the last election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite quickly, but if you look at the areas where there is some semblance of hope, it’s the progressive candidates that are actually truly galvanising the public,” he says. He references the progressive “wing”.

“We have to embrace that, because I feel like it’s a matter of life or death at this point,” he continues. “So I will do anything in my power to try and prevent a worse alternative.”

The American left could arguably do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is tempted in traditional 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 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 lengthy live stream is about to begin, and he’s itching to get started.