From Online Streamer to Political Figurehead: The Rise of Hasan Piker

Hasan Piker refers to it the bus driver test: “You get on a bus and you have 30 seconds to describe whatever online drama occurred to the bus driver without them looking at you and saying, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” Most online debate, no matter how fiery, fails the test, he contends – including 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 shouted “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; trying to explain the importance of this particular event might well take the remainder of this article.

Navigating the In-Between Zone

Piker operates in this liminal zone more and more 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 channel Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “traditional media” for his perspectives on the beleaguered political left, and especially that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Prime Hate Figure for the Right

Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a favorite hate figure of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to criticize: his direct political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances 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. “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 preparing to start his regular 11am show. He typically broadcasts live for seven to eight hours straight, talking unscripted about the news, lifestyle stories, his personal life, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and responding to the constant stream of comments from viewers.

From The Young Turks to Twitch

Building himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for streaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker says. 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 majoring in 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 conservative, and often divisive views that infested the space.

“You can find ideological variety among the gamers, among the developers, among the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political expression in this arena is so heavily dominated by the right,” he says.

The Problem with the American Left

This is the core issue with the American left in general, argues Piker: they’ve relinquished so many battlegrounds to the right. “You absolutely have to promote your ideas … but they simply completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is regularly critical of recent 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 democrat and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the standard position in much of the world.”

Controversies and Backlash

One of the risks of Piker’s type of informal, relatable commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which provides his opponents ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch several times for perceived offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the context of a broader critique, he made a statement about a historic attack that was seized upon by right-wing media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the wording was ill-chosen.

Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain state policies have led to allegations of prejudice, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing praise for a different 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 says. “It is what it is.”

Offline Repercussions

The vitriol constantly 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 releasing him. “I think they did it because they are aware of who I am,” he said.

These levels of enmity help explain the “Free Kaya!” incident in Dublin. It started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, yelped suddenly. Online detractors jumped to the conclusion that Piker was harming the animal, igniting a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” 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 edited from his live stream and disseminated with his response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said.

The Divide Between Digital and Real Worlds

This illustrates the difference between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very hard 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 relatively low stakes. In the US, he feels less safe. The assassination of a right-wing 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 over a decade,” he says. Unhealthy parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he acknowledges.

The Future and Staying Grounded

Having been prescient about a recent 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 semblance 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 lean into that, because I feel like it’s a matter of critical importance at this point,” he continues. “So I will do anything in my power to try and avoid a worse alternative.”

The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it doesn’t sound as if Piker is tempted in mainstream political office. He makes periodic media appearances, 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 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.