From Online Commentator to Political Figurehead: The Ascent of Hasan Piker

Hasan Piker calls it an everyday benchmark: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have 30 seconds to describe any online event took place to the bus driver without them looking at you and saying, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” Most online discourse, no matter how fiery, does not pass the test, he says – including an incident last weekend, when someone on a Dublin street requested to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; trying to explain the importance of this particular event could easily take the remainder of this article.

Existing in the Blurred Zone

Piker finds himself in this in-between space increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was known primarily to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “the real world” for his analysis on the struggling political left, and especially that inordinately discussed demographic, young men.

A Favorite Target for the Political Right

Predictably, this also makes Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his enemies there is plenty to dislike: his blunt political stances; his cultural background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – defies typical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid his appearance in shirtless magazine photoshoots or social media posts.

“I’ll be honest, I had no idea that this is what I was going to be doing,” says Piker. “For instance, 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 late morning show. He usually streams live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking improvised about the news, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending stream of messages from viewers.

From The Young Turks to Twitch

Building himself on Twitch, which is primarily for livestreaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker explains. His media career began with The Young Turks, the progressive online news network. Piker’s parents are Turkish immigrants, and he was raised between New Jersey and Istanbul before studying political science. He eventually hosted his own show on the network in 2016 but in 2018 he decided to go solo on Twitch, to counterbalance what he saw as dominantly rightwing, and often toxic views that permeated the space.

“There’s a lot of ideological diversity among the gamers, amongst 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 fundamental problem with the American left in general, argues Piker: they’ve relinquished so many battlegrounds to the right. “You absolutely have to market your ideas … but they simply completely gave up on 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 member of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the standard position in most of the world.”

Firestorms and Backlash

One of the dangers of Piker’s style of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his opponents fodder. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple times for deemed offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the context of a broader critique, he made a comment about a national tragedy that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the language was inappropriate.

Similarly, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinians and criticism of certain state policies have led to accusations of prejudice, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing admiration for a different major global power, after a trip there.

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

Real-World Repercussions

The hate increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by US border agents on his return from travel abroad. They interrogated him about his political opinions 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, yelped suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists swiftly concluded that Piker was harming the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a major animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the surprise encounter by a random in Dublin.

Piker handled the situation 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 Digital 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 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 relatively low stakes. In the US, he admits to feeling less safe. The assassination of a right-wing commentator served as a harrowing 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 guide my life. I’ve gotten death threats for over a decade,” he says. Unhealthy parasocial relationships come with the territory, he accepts.

The Future and Finding Balance

Having been prescient about the last 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 left candidates that are actually really galvanising the public,” he says. He references the progressive “left flank”.

“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 everything in my power to try and avoid a worse alternative.”

The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is interested in traditional political office. He makes occasional media appearances, but he’s not tempted further into legacy media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from traditional publishers.”

And 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 awaits, and he’s itching to get started.