From Digital Streamer to Political Figurehead: The Ascent of Hasan Piker

Hasan Piker dubs it the bus driver test: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have half a minute to clarify whatever online phenomena occurred to the bus driver without them looking at you and going, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online debate, regardless of how fiery, fails the test, he contends – including a strange event recently, when someone on a Dublin street requested to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; trying to explain the importance of that specific event could easily take the remainder of this article.

Existing in the In-Between Space

Piker finds himself in this liminal zone more and more these days. Until fairly recently, the 34-year-old was known primarily to the digitally immersed, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, largely thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But following the last presidential election, Piker has become an sought-after voice in “offline circles” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Favorite Hate Figure for the Right

Predictably, this also positions Piker a prime hate figure of the political right. To his c critics there is plenty to dislike: his direct political views; his cultural background; his allegiances with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – does not fit stereotypical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid his physique in shirtless magazine spreads or social media posts.

“To be frank, I had no idea that this is what I was going to be doing,” states 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 the morning and he’s preparing to start his daily 11am show. He usually streams live for seven to 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 never-ending stream of messages from viewers.

From The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Building himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for livestreaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker explains. His media career started out with The Young Turks, the progressive online news network. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he was raised between New Jersey and Istanbul before majoring in political science. He eventually hosted his own show on the network in 2016 but in 2018 he decided to go solo on Twitch, to provide an alternative to what he saw as overwhelmingly conservative, and often toxic views that permeated the space.

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

The Challenge with the American Left

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

Piker is consistently sharply critical of past administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal member of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democratic and “compassion-driven”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the standard position in most of the world.”

Controversies and Criticism

One of the dangers of Piker’s type of relaxed, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his opponents ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple times for perceived offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the framework of a broader critique, he made a comment about a national tragedy that was amplified by conservative media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the wording was ill-chosen.

Similarly, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain government actions have led to allegations of prejudice, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing praise for another major global power, after a trip there.

“I have no issues 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 constantly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by American border agents on his return from a trip. They questioned him about his views 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, made a noise suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, sparking a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a major animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the surprise encounter 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 shocked,” he said.

The Divide 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 without coming across as hysterical and odd. Exchanges on the internet create 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 assassination of a right-wing commentator was 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 dictate my life. I’ve gotten death threats for over a decade,” he says. Unhealthy one-sided fan dynamics come with the territory, he acknowledges.

Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded

Having been prescient about a recent election, how does Piker view 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 left candidates that are actually really galvanising the public,” he says. He references the progressive “left flank”.

“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 everything in my power to try and prevent a dark 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 periodic media guest spots, but he’s not drawn further into traditional media, he says. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.”

And on top of that, he clearly finds it fulfilling: “I find a lot of personal fulfilment in what I do.” As he’s talking, he’s got one eye on the clock. Another marathon live stream awaits, and he’s itching to get started.