‘I love when my enemies loathe me’: the way Hasan Piker emerged as among the biggest 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 clarify whatever online drama unfolded to the bus driver before them turning to you and saying, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online debate, no matter how fiery, fails the test, he says – 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 this particular event might well take the remainder of this article.

Navigating the Gray Zone

Piker finds himself in this liminal zone increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the 34-year-old was familiar primarily to the very online, especially Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has become an in-demand voice in “offline circles” for his views on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that constantly discussed demographic, young men.

A Prime Target for the Right

Predictably, this also positions Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his c critics there is a lot to criticize: his direct political stances; his cultural background; his allegiances with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – does not fit stereotypical lefty stereotypes. He has leveraged 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. “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 the morning and he’s preparing to start his daily 11am show. He typically streams live for seven to eight hours straight, talking off the cuff about current affairs, lifestyle stories, 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 Solo Streaming

Building himself on Twitch, which is primarily for livestreaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker explains. His media career began with The Young Turks, the left-leaning online news network. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he grew up 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 chose to go solo on Twitch, to counterbalance what he saw as overwhelmingly conservative, and often toxic views that infested the space.

“There’s a lot of ideological diversity among the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political commentary in this arena is so overwhelmingly dominated by the right,” he says.

The Problem with the American Left

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

Piker is consistently critical of recent administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal supporter of the major center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democratic and “compassion-driven”, he explains. “My position is actually the normal position in most of the world.”

Controversies and Criticism

One of the dangers of Piker’s type of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his critics fodder. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch several times for perceived offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the context of a broader critique, he made a statement about a national tragedy that was amplified by right-wing media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the wording was inappropriate.

Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and condemnation of certain government actions have led to accusations of bias, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing praise 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 states. “It is what it is.”

Offline Consequences

The hate increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by US border agents on his return from travel abroad. They questioned 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 enmity help explain the “Free Kaya!” incident in Dublin. It started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, made a noise suddenly. Online detractors jumped to the conclusion 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 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 Online and Offline Worlds

This highlights 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. Interactions on the internet create this environment where you can be as aggressive as you want.”

That Dublin encounter was fairly low stakes. In the US, he admits to feeling 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 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. Unhealthy one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he acknowledges.

The Future and Staying Grounded

Having been accurate about a recent election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “Things change quite rapidly, but if you look at the areas 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 “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 prevent a worse alternative.”

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

But on top of that, he still enjoys it: “I find a lot of personal 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.