🔗 Share this article ‘I adore when my enemies hate me’: how Hasan Piker emerged as among the biggest personalities on the US left Hasan Piker refers to it a simple litmus test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have a brief moment to explain whatever online event took place to the bus driver without them turning to you and saying, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” Most online conversation, no matter how heated, does not pass the test, he argues – not least an incident last weekend, when someone on a Dublin street requested to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; trying to explain the significance of that specific event could easily take the remainder of this article. Navigating the In-Between Zone Piker operates in this liminal zone more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the thirty-four-year-old was familiar only to the very online, particularly Americans in their twenties and thirties, largely thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has become an sought-after voice in “traditional media” for his analysis on the struggling political left, and specifically that constantly discussed demographic, young men. A Prime Target for the Right Unsurprisingly, this also positions Piker a prime hate figure of the political right. To his enemies there is plenty to criticize: his blunt political views; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – defies stereotypical lefty stereotypes. He has leveraged his physique in shirtless magazine photoshoots or social media posts. “I’ll be honest, 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 ever think that you’d become a Twitch streamer? I’d be like, what is Twitch?” It’s early and he’s getting ready to start his daily 11am show. He usually streams live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking off the cuff about the news, pop culture, what he’s up to, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the constant stream of comments from viewers. Beginning at The Young Turks to Twitch Establishing himself on Twitch, which is primarily for livestreaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker says. His media career started out with The Young Turks, the progressive online news network. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he was raised 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 counterbalance what he saw as dominantly conservative, and often toxic views that infested the space. “You can find ideological diversity amongst the gamers, amongst the developers, among the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political expression in this arena 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 broad terms, says Piker: they’ve conceded so many cultural spaces to the right. “You still have to market your ideas … but they just completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.” Piker is consistently 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 democratic and “empathy-first”, he explains. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in most of the world.” Controversies and Criticism One of the risks of Piker’s style of relaxed, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his critics 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 comment 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 vocal support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain state policies have led to accusations of prejudice, which he denies. He has also been mocked for expressing praise for a different major global power, after a trip there. “I have no problem getting vilified by people on the right. I love when my enemies hate me,” he says. “It is what it is.” Offline Repercussions The vitriol increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by US border agents on his re-entry from travel abroad. They interrogated him about his views before letting him go. “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, yelped suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was harming the animal, sparking a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a major animal rights organization put out 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 reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said. The Divide Between Digital and Offline Worlds This highlights the difference between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world without coming across as unhinged and odd. Interactions on the internet foster this environment where you can be as aggressive 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 harrowing example of where this online hate can end up. Piker watched the event develop 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 over a decade,” he says. Unhealthy one-sided fan dynamics come with the territory, he accepts. Looking Ahead and Finding Balance Having been prescient about the last election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “Things change quite quickly, but if you look at the areas where there is some glimmer 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 everything 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 tempted in mainstream political office. He makes periodic media guest spots, but he’s not tempted further into legacy media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from traditional publishers.” But 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 lengthy live stream awaits, and he’s itching to get started.
Hasan Piker refers to it a simple litmus test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have a brief moment to explain whatever online event took place to the bus driver without them turning to you and saying, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” Most online conversation, no matter how heated, does not pass the test, he argues – not least an incident last weekend, when someone on a Dublin street requested to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; trying to explain the significance of that specific event could easily take the remainder of this article. Navigating the In-Between Zone Piker operates in this liminal zone more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the thirty-four-year-old was familiar only to the very online, particularly Americans in their twenties and thirties, largely thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has become an sought-after voice in “traditional media” for his analysis on the struggling political left, and specifically that constantly discussed demographic, young men. A Prime Target for the Right Unsurprisingly, this also positions Piker a prime hate figure of the political right. To his enemies there is plenty to criticize: his blunt political views; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – defies stereotypical lefty stereotypes. He has leveraged his physique in shirtless magazine photoshoots or social media posts. “I’ll be honest, 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 ever think that you’d become a Twitch streamer? I’d be like, what is Twitch?” It’s early and he’s getting ready to start his daily 11am show. He usually streams live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking off the cuff about the news, pop culture, what he’s up to, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the constant stream of comments from viewers. Beginning at The Young Turks to Twitch Establishing himself on Twitch, which is primarily for livestreaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker says. His media career started out with The Young Turks, the progressive online news network. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he was raised 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 counterbalance what he saw as dominantly conservative, and often toxic views that infested the space. “You can find ideological diversity amongst the gamers, amongst the developers, among the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political expression in this arena 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 broad terms, says Piker: they’ve conceded so many cultural spaces to the right. “You still have to market your ideas … but they just completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.” Piker is consistently 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 democratic and “empathy-first”, he explains. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in most of the world.” Controversies and Criticism One of the risks of Piker’s style of relaxed, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his critics 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 comment 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 vocal support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain state policies have led to accusations of prejudice, which he denies. He has also been mocked for expressing praise for a different major global power, after a trip there. “I have no problem getting vilified by people on the right. I love when my enemies hate me,” he says. “It is what it is.” Offline Repercussions The vitriol increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by US border agents on his re-entry from travel abroad. They interrogated him about his views before letting him go. “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, yelped suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was harming the animal, sparking a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a major animal rights organization put out 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 reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said. The Divide Between Digital and Offline Worlds This highlights the difference between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world without coming across as unhinged and odd. Interactions on the internet foster this environment where you can be as aggressive 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 harrowing example of where this online hate can end up. Piker watched the event develop 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 over a decade,” he says. Unhealthy one-sided fan dynamics come with the territory, he accepts. Looking Ahead and Finding Balance Having been prescient about the last election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “Things change quite quickly, but if you look at the areas where there is some glimmer 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 everything 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 tempted in mainstream political office. He makes periodic media guest spots, but he’s not tempted further into legacy media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from traditional publishers.” But 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 lengthy live stream awaits, and he’s itching to get started.