🔗 Share this article ‘I adore when my foes hate me’: the way Hasan Piker emerged as among the most prominent voices on the US left Hasan Piker calls it an everyday benchmark: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have a brief moment to explain whatever online event occurred to the bus driver before them looking at you and saying, ‘Get off the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online debate, no matter how heated, fails the test, he argues – not least an incident last weekend, when someone on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; attempting to explain the significance of this particular event might well take the remainder of this article. Existing in the Gray Space Piker operates in this gray area increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was known primarily to the very online, especially Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has become an in-demand voice in “the real world” for his perspectives on the beleaguered political left, and especially that constantly discussed demographic, young men. A Prime Hate Figure for the Political Right Predictably, this also positions Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot to criticize: his blunt 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 – does not fit typical lefty stereotypes. He has not been afraid his appearance in revealing magazine spreads or social media posts. “I’ll be honest, 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 imagine 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 to eight hours consecutively, talking improvised about current affairs, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the constant stream of comments from viewers. From The Young Turks to Twitch Building himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for livestreaming 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 was raised between New Jersey and Istanbul before studying political science. He graduated to 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 toxic views that permeated the space. “You can find ideological variety among the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political commentary in this hobby is so heavily 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 ceded so many battlegrounds to the right. “You still have to promote your ideas … but they simply 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 not a loyal member of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the normal position in most of the world.” Firestorms and Backlash One of the risks of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives 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 national tragedy that was seized upon by right-wing media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the language was ill-chosen. Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and condemnation of certain state policies have led to accusations of prejudice, which he strongly rejects. He has also been mocked for expressing admiration 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 says. “It is what it is.” Offline Consequences The vitriol constantly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by US border agents on his return from travel abroad. They interrogated him about his views before letting him go. “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 originated from a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, made a noise suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a major animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the ambush by a random 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 Online 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 admits to feeling less safe. The assassination of a right-wing commentator was a shocking 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 dictate my life. I’ve gotten death threats for years,” he says. Toxic parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he accepts. Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded Having been accurate about the last election, how does Piker view the next few years? “Things change quite quickly, but if you look at the areas where there is some glimmer of hope, it’s the left candidates that are actually really 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 life or death at this point,” he continues. “So I will do anything in my power to try and prevent a worse alternative.” The American left could arguably do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is tempted in traditional political office. He makes occasional media appearances, but he’s not tempted further into legacy media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.” And on top of that, he still 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 is about to begin, and he’s itching to get started.
Hasan Piker calls it an everyday benchmark: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have a brief moment to explain whatever online event occurred to the bus driver before them looking at you and saying, ‘Get off the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online debate, no matter how heated, fails the test, he argues – not least an incident last weekend, when someone on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; attempting to explain the significance of this particular event might well take the remainder of this article. Existing in the Gray Space Piker operates in this gray area increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was known primarily to the very online, especially Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has become an in-demand voice in “the real world” for his perspectives on the beleaguered political left, and especially that constantly discussed demographic, young men. A Prime Hate Figure for the Political Right Predictably, this also positions Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot to criticize: his blunt 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 – does not fit typical lefty stereotypes. He has not been afraid his appearance in revealing magazine spreads or social media posts. “I’ll be honest, 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 imagine 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 to eight hours consecutively, talking improvised about current affairs, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the constant stream of comments from viewers. From The Young Turks to Twitch Building himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for livestreaming 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 was raised between New Jersey and Istanbul before studying political science. He graduated to 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 toxic views that permeated the space. “You can find ideological variety among the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political commentary in this hobby is so heavily 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 ceded so many battlegrounds to the right. “You still have to promote your ideas … but they simply 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 not a loyal member of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the normal position in most of the world.” Firestorms and Backlash One of the risks of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives 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 national tragedy that was seized upon by right-wing media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the language was ill-chosen. Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and condemnation of certain state policies have led to accusations of prejudice, which he strongly rejects. He has also been mocked for expressing admiration 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 says. “It is what it is.” Offline Consequences The vitriol constantly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by US border agents on his return from travel abroad. They interrogated him about his views before letting him go. “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 originated from a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, made a noise suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a major animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the ambush by a random 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 Online 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 admits to feeling less safe. The assassination of a right-wing commentator was a shocking 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 dictate my life. I’ve gotten death threats for years,” he says. Toxic parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he accepts. Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded Having been accurate about the last election, how does Piker view the next few years? “Things change quite quickly, but if you look at the areas where there is some glimmer of hope, it’s the left candidates that are actually really 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 life or death at this point,” he continues. “So I will do anything in my power to try and prevent a worse alternative.” The American left could arguably do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is tempted in traditional political office. He makes occasional media appearances, but he’s not tempted further into legacy media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.” And on top of that, he still 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 is about to begin, and he’s itching to get started.