From Online Streamer to Political Figurehead: The Rise of Hasan Piker

Hasan Piker calls it the bus driver test: “You get on a bus and you have a brief moment to describe whatever online phenomena occurred to the bus driver without them turning to you and going, ‘Get off the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online conversation, 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 shouted “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; attempting to explain the meaning of this particular event could easily take the remainder of this article.

Navigating the Gray Zone

Piker finds himself in this in-between space more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was familiar primarily to the digitally immersed, particularly Americans in their twenties and thirties, largely thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But following the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an sought-after voice in “offline circles” for his analysis on the struggling political left, and specifically that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Prime Hate Figure for the Right

Predictably, this also positions Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot to criticize: his blunt political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – defies typical lefty caricatures. He has leveraged his physique in shirtless magazine spreads or social media posts.

“To be frank, I had no clue 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 early and he’s preparing to start his regular 11am show. He usually streams live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking improvised about current affairs, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and responding to the constant stream of comments from viewers.

From The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Establishing himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for livestreaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker explains. His media career began with The Young Turks, the left-leaning online news network. His 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 provide an alternative to what he saw as dominantly rightwing, and often divisive views that infested the space.

“You can find ideological diversity amongst the gamers, amongst the developers, amongst the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political expression in this arena is so heavily dominated by the right,” he says.

The Problem with the American Left

This is the fundamental problem with the American left in general, 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 regularly sharply critical of past administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal supporter of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are generally social democrat and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in much of the world.”

Controversies and Criticism

One of the dangers of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives his critics fodder. 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 statement about a historic attack that was amplified by right-wing media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the language was ill-chosen.

Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and criticism of certain government actions have led to accusations of prejudice, which he strongly rejects. He has also been mocked for expressing praise 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 states. “It is what it is.”

Real-World Consequences

The hate constantly 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 political opinions 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 started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, made a noise suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists swiftly concluded that Piker was harming the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a major animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the surprise encounter by a random in Dublin.

Piker took that encounter 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 Difference Between Digital and Real Worlds

This highlights the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very hard to maintain a very negative energy in the real world and not coming across as hysterical and odd. Interactions 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 served as a shocking 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 years,” he says. Unhealthy parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he accepts.

Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded

Having been accurate 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 progressive candidates that are actually really galvanising the public,” he says. He points to the progressive “wing”.

“We have to embrace 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 prevent a worse alternative.”

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

And 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.