‘I relish when my enemies despise me’: how Hasan Piker became a leading the biggest personalities on the US political left

Hasan Piker calls it a simple litmus test: “You get on a bus and you have 30 seconds to clarify any online event occurred to the bus driver before them looking at you and saying, ‘Get off the fucking bus.’” Most online debate, regardless of how heated, does not pass the test, he argues – not least an incident last weekend, 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 importance of this particular event might well take the rest of this article.

Existing in the Gray Zone

Piker operates in this in-between space more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the thirty-four-year-old was known primarily to the digitally immersed, particularly Americans in their twenties and thirties, largely thanks to his presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But following the last presidential election, Piker has become an in-demand voice in “the real world” for his perspectives on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that constantly discussed demographic, young men.

A Favorite Hate Figure for the Political Right

Predictably, this also positions Piker a favorite villain 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 resent the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – does not fit typical lefty stereotypes. He has not been afraid his physique in shirtless magazine spreads or social media posts.

“I’ll be honest, I had no idea that this is what I was going to be doing,” states 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 preparing to start his regular 11am show. He usually streams live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking improvised about the news, lifestyle stories, his personal life, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and responding to 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 deliberate 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 was raised between New Jersey and Istanbul before majoring in political science. He eventually hosted his own show on the network in 2016 but in 2018 he decided to go solo on Twitch, to counterbalance what he saw as dominantly conservative, and often divisive views that infested the space.

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

The Challenge with the American Left

This is the fundamental problem with the American left in broad terms, argues Piker: they’ve conceded so many cultural spaces to the right. “You absolutely have to promote your ideas … but they just 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 no loyal member of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democratic and “compassion-driven”, he clarifies. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in much of the world.”

Firestorms 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 suspended from Twitch multiple times for deemed offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the framework of a wider critique, he made a comment about a national tragedy that was amplified by right-wing media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the language was ill-chosen.

Similarly, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinians and criticism of certain government actions have led to allegations of bias, which he strongly rejects. He has also been ridiculed for expressing admiration for a different major global power, after a trip there.

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

Offline Repercussions

The hate 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 views 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 issued a statement. This led to the surprise encounter 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 response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said.

The Divide Between Digital 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 and not coming across as hysterical and odd. Exchanges on the internet create this environment where you can be as hostile as you want.”

That Dublin encounter was fairly low stakes. In the US, he feels less safe. The fatal shooting of a right-wing commentator served as 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 dictate my life. I’ve gotten death threats for years,” he says. Unhealthy parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he acknowledges.

The Future 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 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 embrace that, because I feel like it’s a matter of life or death at this point,” he continues. “So I will do everything in my power to try and avoid a worse alternative.”

The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is interested in mainstream 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 traditional publishers.”

And on top of that, he still 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.