‘I adore when my enemies despise me’: how Hasan Piker emerged as a leading the largest figures on the US political left

Hasan Piker refers to it the bus driver test: “You get on a bus and you have half a minute to explain whatever online drama unfolded to the bus driver before them looking at you and saying, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online debate, no matter how fiery, fails the test, he contends – not least an incident recently, when a person 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; attempting to explain the meaning of that specific event might well take the remainder of this article.

Navigating the Gray Space

Piker increasingly exists in this liminal zone increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was familiar only to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “traditional media” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and especially that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Favorite Hate Figure for the Right

Predictably, this also makes Piker a favorite target of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to dislike: his blunt 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 stereotypical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid his physique 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 the morning and he’s getting ready to start his regular late morning show. He usually streams live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking improvised about the news, pop culture, 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 streaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker explains. His media career started out 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 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 overwhelmingly conservative, 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 hobby is so overwhelmingly dominated by the right,” he says.

The Problem with the American Left

This is the core issue with the American left in broad terms, argues Piker: they’ve relinquished so many arenas 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 sharply critical of past administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is no loyal member of the major 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.”

Firestorms and Backlash

One of the dangers of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his critics ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch multiple times for deemed offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the context of a broader critique, he made a comment about a national tragedy that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the wording was inappropriate.

Likewise, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinians and condemnation of certain state policies have led to allegations of bias, which he strongly rejects. He has also been mocked for expressing admiration for a different 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 hate constantly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by US border agents on his return from a trip. They questioned him about his political opinions before letting him go. “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, yelped suddenly. Online detractors jumped to the conclusion that Piker was harming the animal, sparking a online controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent 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 disseminated with his reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said.

The Difference Between Online and Real Worlds

This highlights the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very hard to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world without 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 lead. 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. Toxic one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he acknowledges.

Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded

Having been accurate 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 progressive candidates that are actually really galvanising the public,” he says. He points to 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 doesn’t sound as if Piker is interested in mainstream political office. He makes occasional media guest spots, 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 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.