Hasan Piker dubs it an everyday benchmark: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have 30 seconds to explain any online event unfolded to the bus driver before them looking at you and saying, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online conversation, no matter how heated, fails the test, he contends – not least a strange event recently, when a person on a Dublin street requested to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; attempting to explain the significance of this particular event could easily take the remainder of this article.
Existing in the Gray Space
Piker increasingly exists 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 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But since the last presidential election, Piker has become an in-demand voice in “the real world” for his perspectives on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that constantly discussed demographic, young men.
A Prime Hate Figure for the Right
Unsurprisingly, this also positions Piker a favorite villain of the political right. To his c critics there is plenty to dislike: his outspoken political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – defies typical lefty caricatures. He has leveraged his appearance in revealing magazine spreads or social media posts.
“To be frank, 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 ever think 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 typically broadcasts live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking unscripted about current affairs, lifestyle stories, his personal life, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and responding to the constant stream of comments from viewers.
Beginning at The Young Turks to Solo Streaming
Building himself on Twitch, a platform 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 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 provide an alternative to what he saw as overwhelmingly rightwing, and often divisive views that infested the space.
“There’s a lot of ideological variety amongst the gamers, amongst the developers, amongst the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political commentary in this hobby is so overwhelmingly dominated by the right,” he notes.
The Problem with the American Left
This is the fundamental issue with the American left in general, argues Piker: they’ve conceded so many arenas to the right. “You absolutely have to promote your ideas … but they just completely gave up on 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 supporter of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are generally social democratic and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My viewpoint is actually the normal position in most of the world.”
Firestorms and Backlash
One of the risks of Piker’s style of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his opponents fodder. He has been suspended from Twitch multiple times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the framework of a wider critique, he made a comment about a historic attack that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was inappropriate.
Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain government actions have led to allegations of prejudice, which he strongly rejects. 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 relish when my enemies hate me,” he states. “It is what it is.”
Offline Consequences
The hate constantly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by US border agents on his re-entry from travel abroad. They interrogated him about his political opinions 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, yelped suddenly. Online detractors jumped to the conclusion that Piker was harming the animal, sparking a online controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a major animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the surprise encounter by a stranger in Dublin.
Piker handled the situation in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was clipped from his live stream and disseminated with his reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said.
The Divide Between Digital and Real Worlds
This illustrates the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world and not coming across as unhinged and odd. Interactions on the internet foster this environment where you can be as hostile as you want.”
That Dublin encounter was fairly low stakes. In the US, he feels less safe. The fatal shooting of a conservative commentator was 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 dictate my life. I’ve gotten death threats for over a decade,” he says. Toxic one-sided fan dynamics come with the territory, he accepts.
Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded
Having been prescient about a recent election, how does Piker view the next few years? “Things change quite rapidly, 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 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 adds. “So I will do everything in my power to try and prevent a worse alternative.”
The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is tempted in mainstream political office. He makes occasional media appearances, but he’s not drawn further into traditional media, he says. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from legacy 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 awaits, and he’s itching to get started.
