‘I love when my enemies loathe me’: the way Hasan Piker became a leading the largest personalities on the US left

Hasan Piker dubs it the bus driver test: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have half a minute to clarify whatever online event unfolded to the bus driver before them turning to you and saying, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” Most online debate, regardless of how intense, fails the test, he says – including an incident last weekend, when a person on a Dublin street asked 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 might well take the rest of this article.

Existing in the Blurred Zone

Piker finds himself in this gray area increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the 34-year-old was known only to the very online, especially Americans in their twenties and thirties, 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 views on the beleaguered political left, and especially that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Prime Hate Figure for the Right

Predictably, this also makes Piker a favorite hate figure of the political right. To his c critics there is a lot to dislike: his outspoken political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – does not fit typical lefty caricatures. He has leveraged 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,” says Piker. “Like, 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 the morning and he’s preparing to start his regular 11am show. He typically broadcasts live for seven to eight hours straight, talking off the cuff about the news, lifestyle stories, his personal life, 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 Solo Streaming

Establishing 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 majoring in 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 dominantly rightwing, and often toxic views that permeated the space.

“There’s a lot of ideological diversity amongst the gamers, amongst the developers, among the consumers, but sadly, the market for political expression in this arena is so heavily dominated by the right,” he notes.

The Problem with the American Left

This is the fundamental problem with the American left in general, says Piker: they’ve relinquished so many battlegrounds to the right. “You still have to market your ideas … but they just completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is regularly critical of past 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 “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the standard position in much of the world.”

Firestorms and Backlash

One of the risks of Piker’s type of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his critics ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch several times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the context of a broader critique, he made a statement about a historic attack that was amplified by right-wing media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the language was inappropriate.

Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and criticism of certain state policies have led to allegations of bias, which he strongly rejects. He has also been ridiculed for expressing praise for another major global power, after a trip there.

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

Offline Repercussions

The vitriol increasingly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by US border agents on his re-entry from travel abroad. They questioned him about his political opinions 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 started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, yelped suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, sparking a online controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a prominent 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 disseminated with his response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said.

The Difference Between Online and Real 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 unhinged and odd. Exchanges 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 fatal shooting of a conservative 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 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. Unhealthy one-sided fan dynamics come with the territory, he acknowledges.

The Future and Finding Balance

Having been prescient about the last election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “Things change quite quickly, but if you look at the avenues where there is some semblance of hope, it’s the left candidates that are actually really galvanising the public,” he says. He points to the progressive “wing”.

“We have to lean into that, because I feel like it’s a matter of critical importance at this point,” he adds. “So I will do everything in my power to try and prevent a worse alternative.”

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

But 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 itching to get started.