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

Hasan Piker calls it the bus driver test: “You get on a bus and you have half a minute to clarify whatever online event unfolded to the bus driver before them turning to you and going, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online discourse, regardless of how fiery, does not pass the test, he says – not least an incident recently, when a person on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; trying to explain the meaning of this particular event might well take the remainder of this article.

Navigating the Gray Zone

Piker increasingly exists in this in-between space more and more these days. Until fairly recently, the 34-year-old was familiar primarily to the very online, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, largely thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an sought-after voice in “offline circles” for his views on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that constantly discussed demographic, young men.

A Prime Hate Figure for the Political Right

Predictably, this also makes Piker a prime hate figure of the political right. To his c critics there is a lot to dislike: his direct political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – defies typical lefty stereotypes. He has not been afraid his physique in revealing magazine spreads or social media posts.

“I’ll be honest, 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 preparing to start his daily 11am show. He typically broadcasts live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking off the cuff about the news, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and interacting with the constant stream of comments from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Building himself on Twitch, a platform 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 studying 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 overwhelmingly conservative, and often divisive views that infested the space.

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

The Problem with the American Left

This is the core issue with the American left in general, says Piker: they’ve ceded 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 regularly critical of recent administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is no loyal member of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “empathy-first”, he explains. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in much of the world.”

Controversies and Criticism

One of the dangers of Piker’s style of relaxed, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his critics fodder. He has been suspended from Twitch multiple times for deemed offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the context of a wider critique, he made a comment about a historic attack that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the language was inappropriate.

Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and condemnation of certain government actions have led to accusations of prejudice, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing admiration for another major global power, after a trip there.

“I have no issues getting vilified 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 threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by American 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 originated from a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, yelped suddenly. Online detractors jumped to the conclusion that Piker was harming the animal, sparking a online controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a prominent animal rights organization issued 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 shocked,” he said.

The Divide Between Digital and Real Worlds

This illustrates the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very negative energy in the real world without coming across as hysterical and odd. Interactions on the internet create this environment where you can be as aggressive as you want.”

That Dublin encounter was relatively low stakes. In the US, he admits to feeling less safe. The fatal shooting of a conservative commentator served as a shocking 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 over a decade,” he says. Unhealthy one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he accepts.

The Future and Staying Grounded

Having been accurate about a recent election, how does Piker view 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 left 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 continues. “So I will do anything in my power to try and avoid a dark alternative.”

The American left could arguably do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is interested in traditional political office. He makes occasional media guest spots, but he’s not tempted further into traditional media, he says. “Viewers 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 lengthy live stream is about to begin, and he’s eager to get started.