🔗 Share this article From Online Streamer to Ideological Figurehead: The Ascent of Hasan Piker Hasan Piker calls it the bus driver test: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have half a minute to describe any online phenomena occurred to the bus driver without them turning to you and going, ‘Get off the fucking bus.’” Most online conversation, no matter how heated, fails the test, he argues – not least a strange event last weekend, when someone 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. Occupying the Blurred Space Piker finds himself in this in-between space increasingly these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was known only to the very online, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, largely thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an sought-after voice in “traditional media” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men. A Favorite Hate Figure for the Right Predictably, this also positions Piker a prime target of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to criticize: his direct political views; his cultural background; his allegiances with left-wing politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – does not fit typical lefty caricatures. He has leveraged his physique in revealing magazine spreads or social media posts. “To be frank, I had no idea that this is what I was going to be doing,” states 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 getting ready to start his regular 11am show. He typically streams live for seven to eight hours straight, talking off the cuff about the news, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending stream of comments from viewers. Beginning at The Young Turks to Twitch Establishing himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for streaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker says. His media career began with The Young Turks, the left-leaning online news network. His 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 decided to go solo on Twitch, to provide an alternative to what he saw as overwhelmingly conservative, and often toxic views that permeated the space. “There’s a lot of ideological variety among the gamers, amongst the developers, amongst 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, says Piker: they’ve relinquished so many arenas to the right. “You absolutely have to promote your ideas … but they simply completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.” Piker is consistently critical of recent administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is no loyal supporter of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “empathy-first”, he explains. “My position is actually the standard position in most of the world.” Controversies and Backlash One of the risks of Piker’s style of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives his critics ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch multiple times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the framework of a wider 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 inappropriate. Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain state policies have led to accusations of bias, which he denies. He has also been mocked for expressing admiration for another major global power, after a trip there. “I have no issues getting vilified by people on the right. I relish when my enemies hate me,” he says. “It is what it is.” Offline Repercussions The hate constantly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by US border agents on his return from a trip. They questioned him about his views before releasing him. “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 detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “collargate.” 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 clipped from his live stream and shared with his reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said. The Divide Between Digital and Real Worlds This highlights the difference between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very negative energy in the real world and not coming across as hysterical 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 assassination of a conservative commentator served as a harrowing 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. Looking Ahead and Finding Balance Having been accurate about a recent election, how does Piker feel 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 “wing”. “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 prevent a dark alternative.” The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it doesn’t sound as if Piker is tempted 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 traditional publishers.” And 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 lengthy live stream awaits, and he’s eager to get started.
Hasan Piker calls it the bus driver test: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have half a minute to describe any online phenomena occurred to the bus driver without them turning to you and going, ‘Get off the fucking bus.’” Most online conversation, no matter how heated, fails the test, he argues – not least a strange event last weekend, when someone 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. Occupying the Blurred Space Piker finds himself in this in-between space increasingly these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was known only to the very online, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, largely thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an sought-after voice in “traditional media” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men. A Favorite Hate Figure for the Right Predictably, this also positions Piker a prime target of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to criticize: his direct political views; his cultural background; his allegiances with left-wing politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – does not fit typical lefty caricatures. He has leveraged his physique in revealing magazine spreads or social media posts. “To be frank, I had no idea that this is what I was going to be doing,” states 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 getting ready to start his regular 11am show. He typically streams live for seven to eight hours straight, talking off the cuff about the news, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending stream of comments from viewers. Beginning at The Young Turks to Twitch Establishing himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for streaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker says. His media career began with The Young Turks, the left-leaning online news network. His 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 decided to go solo on Twitch, to provide an alternative to what he saw as overwhelmingly conservative, and often toxic views that permeated the space. “There’s a lot of ideological variety among the gamers, amongst the developers, amongst 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, says Piker: they’ve relinquished so many arenas to the right. “You absolutely have to promote your ideas … but they simply completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.” Piker is consistently critical of recent administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is no loyal supporter of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “empathy-first”, he explains. “My position is actually the standard position in most of the world.” Controversies and Backlash One of the risks of Piker’s style of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives his critics ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch multiple times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the framework of a wider 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 inappropriate. Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain state policies have led to accusations of bias, which he denies. He has also been mocked for expressing admiration for another major global power, after a trip there. “I have no issues getting vilified by people on the right. I relish when my enemies hate me,” he says. “It is what it is.” Offline Repercussions The hate constantly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by US border agents on his return from a trip. They questioned him about his views before releasing him. “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 detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “collargate.” 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 clipped from his live stream and shared with his reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said. The Divide Between Digital and Real Worlds This highlights the difference between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very negative energy in the real world and not coming across as hysterical 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 assassination of a conservative commentator served as a harrowing 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. Looking Ahead and Finding Balance Having been accurate about a recent election, how does Piker feel 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 “wing”. “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 prevent a dark alternative.” The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it doesn’t sound as if Piker is tempted 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 traditional publishers.” And 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 lengthy live stream awaits, and he’s eager to get started.