‘I adore when my foes loathe me’: how Hasan Piker became a leading the biggest personalities on the US left

Hasan Piker dubs it a simple litmus test: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have 30 seconds to clarify any online event took place to the bus driver without them turning to you and going, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online discourse, regardless of how heated, fails the test, he contends – including 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 shouted “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; trying to explain the significance of this particular event might well take the remainder of this article.

Navigating the Gray Space

Piker increasingly exists in this liminal zone increasingly these days. Until relatively recently, the thirty-four-year-old was familiar primarily to the very online, particularly Americans in their twenties and thirties, largely thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an sought-after voice in “offline circles” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and especially that inordinately discussed demographic, young men.

A Favorite Target for the Political Right

Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a favorite hate figure of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to criticize: his direct political views; his cultural background; his associations with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – defies stereotypical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid his physique in shirtless magazine photoshoots or social media posts.

“To be frank, I had no clue 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 broadcasts live for seven to eight hours straight, talking unscripted about the news, lifestyle stories, his personal life, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending stream of messages from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Building himself on Twitch, which is 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. 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 overwhelmingly conservative, and often toxic views that infested the space.

“You can find ideological variety amongst the gamers, amongst the developers, amongst the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political commentary in this hobby is so overwhelmingly dominated by the right,” he notes.

The Problem with the American Left

This is the fundamental issue with the American left in general, says Piker: they’ve conceded so many arenas to the right. “You still have to promote your ideas … but they just completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is consistently sharply critical of past administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is no loyal member of the major center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “compassion-driven”, he explains. “My position is actually the normal position in much of the world.”

Controversies and Backlash

One of the dangers of Piker’s style of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his critics ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch several times for perceived offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the framework of a broader critique, he made a statement about a historic attack that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was ill-chosen.

Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and condemnation of certain state policies have led to accusations of prejudice, which he strongly rejects. He has also been mocked for expressing admiration for another major global power, after a trip there.

“I have no problem getting attacked by people on the right. I love 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 detained by American border agents on his return from a trip. 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 started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, yelped suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists swiftly concluded that Piker was harming the animal, sparking a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the ambush by a stranger 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 devastated,” he said.

The Divide Between Digital and Offline Worlds

This highlights the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world and not coming across as hysterical and odd. Interactions on the internet create 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 shocking example of where this online hate can lead. 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 guide my life. I’ve gotten death threats for over a decade,” he says. Toxic one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he accepts.

Looking Ahead and Finding Balance

Having been accurate about the last election, how does Piker view the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite rapidly, but if you look at the areas where there is some glimmer of hope, it’s the left candidates that are actually really galvanising the public,” he says. He points to the progressive “left flank”.

“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 avoid a dark 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 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 emotional fulfilment in what I do.” As he’s talking, he’s got one eye on the clock. Another lengthy live stream is about to begin, and he’s itching to get started.