‘I relish when my enemies loathe me’: how Hasan Piker emerged as a leading the largest personalities on the US political left

Hasan Piker dubs it the bus driver test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have half a minute to describe whatever online phenomena occurred to the bus driver without them looking at you and going, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online discourse, regardless of how intense, fails the test, he argues – not least a strange event last weekend, when a person on a Dublin street requested to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; attempting to explain the meaning of that specific event could easily take the remainder of this article.

Occupying the Blurred Space

Piker operates in this gray area increasingly these days. Until relatively recently, the thirty-four-year-old was familiar only to the digitally immersed, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his dominant 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 Hate Figure for the Political Right

Predictably, this also makes Piker a prime target of the political right. To his c critics there is a lot to criticize: his outspoken political views; his Turkish, Muslim background; his associations 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,” says Piker. “Like, 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 typically streams live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking unscripted about the news, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and responding to the never-ending stream of messages from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Establishing himself on Twitch, which is primarily for livestreaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker explains. His media career began 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 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 divisive 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 heavily dominated by the right,” he notes.

The Problem with the American Left

This is the core issue with the American left in general, argues Piker: they’ve relinquished 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 consistently sharply critical of recent administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is no loyal supporter of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are generally social democrat and “compassion-driven”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the normal position in much of the world.”

Firestorms and Backlash

One of the dangers of Piker’s type of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which provides his opponents fodder. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple times for deemed offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the framework of a wider critique, he made a statement about a historic attack that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the language was ill-chosen.

Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain government actions have led to accusations of prejudice, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing admiration for a different major global power, after a trip there.

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

Real-World Repercussions

The hate increasingly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by US border agents on his re-entry from a trip. They interrogated 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 hostility help explain the “Free Kaya!” incident in Dublin. It originated from a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, made a noise suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was harming 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 took that encounter in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was edited from his live stream and shared 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 without 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 fatal shooting of a right-wing 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. Toxic parasocial relationships come with the territory, he accepts.

Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded

Having been accurate about the last election, how does Piker feel 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 left candidates that are actually truly 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 adds. “So I will do anything in my power to try and avoid a worse alternative.”

The American left could perhaps 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 drawn further into traditional media, he says. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from traditional publishers.”

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