‘I adore when my enemies loathe me’: the way Hasan Piker became among the biggest voices on the American political left

Hasan Piker calls it an everyday benchmark: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have 30 seconds to describe any online drama occurred to the bus driver without them looking at you and going, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online discourse, no matter how fiery, fails the test, he contends – not least an incident last weekend, when a person on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; trying to explain the meaning of this particular event could easily take the rest of this article.

Existing in the Gray Zone

Piker finds himself in this in-between space increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the 34-year-old was familiar only to the very online, especially Americans in their twenties and thirties, largely thanks to his presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But since the last presidential election, Piker has become an sought-after voice in “offline circles” for his views on the struggling political left, and specifically that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Prime Hate Figure for the Right

Predictably, this also positions Piker a prime target of the political right. To his enemies there is plenty to dislike: his blunt 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 leveraged his appearance in revealing 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 the morning and he’s preparing to start his daily late morning show. He usually broadcasts live for seven to eight hours straight, talking unscripted about current affairs, lifestyle stories, his personal life, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending stream of comments from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Twitch

Establishing himself on Twitch, which is primarily for livestreaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker explains. 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 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 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 overwhelmingly dominated by the right,” he notes.

The Challenge with the American Left

This is the fundamental problem with the American left in general, says Piker: they’ve relinquished so many arenas to the right. “You still 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 no loyal supporter of the major center-left party. His own politics are generally social democratic and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the standard position in most of the world.”

Controversies and Criticism

One of the risks of Piker’s type of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives his critics fodder. He has been suspended from Twitch several times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the context of a broader critique, he made a statement about a national tragedy that was seized upon by right-wing media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was inappropriate.

Similarly, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinians and condemnation of certain government actions have led to allegations of prejudice, which he strongly rejects. He has also been mocked for expressing admiration for a different major global power, after a trip there.

“I have no issues getting vilified 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 questioned 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 originated from a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, made a noise suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was harming the animal, sparking a online controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the ambush by a stranger in Dublin.

Piker took that encounter 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 devastated,” he said.

The Divide Between Digital and Offline Worlds

This highlights the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world and not coming across as hysterical and odd. Interactions 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 fatal shooting 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 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. Toxic parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he accepts.

Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded

Having been accurate 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 glimmer of hope, it’s the progressive candidates that are actually truly galvanising the public,” he says. He points to the progressive “wing”.

“We have to embrace that, because I feel like it’s a matter of critical importance at this point,” he adds. “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 doesn’t sound as if Piker is tempted in mainstream political office. He makes occasional media guest spots, but he’s not tempted 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 lengthy live stream is about to begin, and he’s itching to get started.