‘I adore when my adversaries hate me’: how Hasan Piker emerged as one of the largest voices on the American left

Hasan Piker calls it an everyday benchmark: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have 30 seconds to clarify whatever online phenomena took place to the bus driver without them turning to you and saying, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online discourse, regardless of how fiery, fails the test, he contends – not least a strange event recently, when someone on a Dublin street requested to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; trying to explain the significance of this particular event might well take the remainder of this article.

Occupying the Gray Zone

Piker operates in this in-between space increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the 34-year-old was known only to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their twenties and thirties, mostly thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has become an sought-after voice in “traditional media” for his perspectives on the beleaguered political left, and especially that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Favorite Target for the Right

Predictably, this also positions Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to criticize: his outspoken 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 – defies typical lefty stereotypes. He has not been afraid his appearance in revealing magazine photoshoots or social media posts.

“To be frank, I had no clue 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 usually broadcasts live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking off the cuff about current affairs, 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, a platform primarily for livestreaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker says. His media career began with The Young Turks, the progressive online news network. His 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 provide an alternative to what he saw as dominantly rightwing, and often toxic views that infested the space.

“You can find ideological diversity among the gamers, among the developers, among 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 issue with the American left in broad terms, says Piker: they’ve ceded so many cultural spaces to the right. “You still have to promote your ideas … but they simply completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is consistently sharply critical of recent administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is no loyal supporter of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “empathy-first”, he explains. “My position is actually the standard position in much of the world.”

Firestorms and Criticism

One of the dangers of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his opponents fodder. He has been suspended from Twitch several times for perceived offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the framework of a wider critique, he made a statement about a historic attack that was amplified by right-wing media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the wording was inappropriate.

Likewise, 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 mocked for expressing praise for another major global power, after a trip there.

“I have no problem getting vilified by people on the right. I love when my enemies hate me,” he says. “It is what it is.”

Offline Consequences

The vitriol increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by US border agents on his return from a trip. They interrogated him about his views before releasing him. “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 originated from a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, yelped suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists jumped to the conclusion that Piker was harming the animal, sparking a online controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a major animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the ambush by a stranger in Dublin.

Piker handled the situation in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was edited 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 Online and Offline Worlds

This highlights 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. Interactions on the internet foster this environment where you can be as hostile as you want.”

That Dublin encounter was relatively low stakes. In the US, he admits to feeling less safe. The fatal shooting of a conservative commentator served as a harrowing example of where this online hate can lead. 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 dictate 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 accurate about the last election, how does Piker view the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite quickly, but if you look at the avenues where there is some semblance of hope, it’s the progressive candidates that are actually truly galvanising the public,” he says. He points to the progressive “left flank”.

“We have to embrace 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 prevent a worse alternative.”

The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it doesn’t sound as if Piker is interested in traditional political office. He makes periodic media guest spots, but he’s not drawn further into legacy media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from traditional 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 awaits, and he’s eager to get started.