‘I love when my enemies loathe me’: the way Hasan Piker emerged as among the biggest voices on the American political left

Hasan Piker refers to it an everyday benchmark: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have half a minute to explain whatever online drama took place to the bus driver before them looking at you and saying, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” Most online discourse, no matter how intense, does not pass the test, he argues – including a strange event recently, when someone on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; trying to explain the meaning of that specific event could easily take the remainder of this article.

Navigating the Blurred Space

Piker operates in this in-between space more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was familiar only to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their twenties and thirties, largely thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But since the last presidential election, Piker has become an sought-after voice in “the real world” for his perspectives on the struggling political left, and specifically that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Favorite Target for the Right

Unsurprisingly, this also positions Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his c critics there is plenty to dislike: his blunt political views; his Turkish, Muslim background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – defies typical lefty stereotypes. He has not been afraid 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. “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 preparing to start his regular late morning show. He usually streams live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking unscripted 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 messages from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Establishing himself on Twitch, which is primarily for streaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker explains. His media career began with The Young Turks, the left-leaning 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 decided to go solo on Twitch, to provide an alternative to what he saw as overwhelmingly rightwing, and often divisive views that infested the space.

“There’s a lot of ideological diversity among the gamers, among the developers, among the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political commentary in this arena 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 general, argues Piker: they’ve conceded 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 past administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is no loyal supporter of the major center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democratic and “compassion-driven”, he explains. “My position is actually the normal position in much of the world.”

Firestorms and Criticism

One of the dangers of Piker’s type of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which provides his critics fodder. He has been suspended from Twitch multiple times for perceived offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the framework of a wider critique, he made a comment about a historic attack that was amplified by right-wing media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the language was inappropriate.

Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and condemnation of certain government actions have led to accusations of prejudice, which he denies. 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 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 detained by US border agents on his return from travel abroad. They interrogated him about his political opinions 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, yelped suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists jumped to the conclusion that Piker was mistreating the animal, sparking a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the surprise encounter by a stranger in Dublin.

Piker took that encounter 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 Digital and Offline Worlds

This illustrates the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world and not 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 relatively low stakes. In the US, he feels less safe. The fatal shooting of a conservative commentator was a harrowing example of where this online hate can lead. 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. Unhealthy parasocial relationships come with the territory, he accepts.

Looking Ahead and Finding Balance

Having been prescient about a recent 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 really galvanising the public,” he says. He references the progressive “wing”.

“We have to lean into that, because I feel like it’s a matter of critical importance at this point,” he continues. “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 interested in traditional political office. He makes occasional media appearances, but he’s not tempted further into legacy media, he says. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.”

And on top of that, he clearly enjoys it: “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.