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

Hasan Piker dubs it an everyday benchmark: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have 30 seconds to clarify any online phenomena took place to the bus driver before them looking at you and saying, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” Most online discourse, regardless of how fiery, does not pass 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 yelled “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; attempting to explain the meaning of that specific event could easily take the rest of this article.

Occupying the Blurred Space

Piker increasingly exists in this gray area increasingly these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was familiar primarily to the digitally immersed, particularly Americans in their twenties and thirties, mostly thanks to his presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But since the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an sought-after voice in “the real world” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and especially that inordinately discussed demographic, young men.

A Favorite Hate Figure for the Right

Predictably, this also positions Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his detractors there is a lot to criticize: his outspoken political views; his cultural background; his allegiances with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – does not fit typical lefty caricatures. He has leveraged his physique 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 the morning and he’s preparing to start his daily late morning show. He usually streams live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking improvised about current affairs, pop culture, what he’s up to, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending stream of comments from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Establishing himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for livestreaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker explains. His media career started out with The Young Turks, the left-leaning 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 chose to go solo on Twitch, to provide an alternative to what he saw as dominantly conservative, and often toxic views that permeated the space.

“You can find ideological variety among the gamers, among 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 core problem with the American left in broad terms, argues Piker: they’ve ceded so many battlegrounds to the right. “You absolutely have to promote your ideas … but they simply completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is regularly sharply critical of recent administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal supporter of the major center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democratic and “compassion-driven”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the normal position in much of the world.”

Controversies and Backlash

One of the dangers of Piker’s style of informal, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his opponents ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch several times for deemed offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the context of a wider critique, he made a statement about a historic attack that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the language was ill-chosen.

Likewise, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain government actions have led to accusations 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 problem getting vilified by people on the right. I relish when my enemies hate me,” he says. “It is what it is.”

Real-World Repercussions

The vitriol increasingly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by US border agents on his re-entry 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 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 mistreating the animal, sparking a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a major animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the ambush by a random in Dublin.

Piker took that encounter in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was clipped 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 highlights the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very negative energy in the real world without coming across as unhinged and odd. Interactions on the internet foster 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 conservative commentator was a harrowing example of where this online hate can end up. 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. Toxic parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he accepts.

The Future and Finding Balance

Having been accurate about a recent election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “Things change quite quickly, but if you look at the avenues where there is some glimmer of hope, it’s the progressive 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 life or death at this point,” he adds. “So I will do everything in my power to try and avoid a worse alternative.”

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

And on top of that, he clearly 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 marathon live stream awaits, and he’s eager to get started.