‘I adore when my enemies loathe me’: the way Hasan Piker became a leading the largest personalities on the US political left

Hasan Piker refers to it the bus driver test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have half a minute to describe whatever online phenomena unfolded to the bus driver before them looking at you and going, ‘Get off the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online debate, no matter how heated, does not pass the test, he argues – including a strange event last weekend, when someone 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 importance of this particular event could easily take the remainder of this article.

Existing in the Blurred Space

Piker increasingly exists in this in-between space increasingly these days. Until fairly recently, the 34-year-old was known only to the digitally immersed, particularly Americans in their twenties and thirties, mostly thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has become an sought-after voice in “the real world” for his perspectives on the struggling political left, and specifically that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Prime Target for the Political Right

Unsurprisingly, this also positions Piker a favorite villain of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot to criticize: his blunt political stances; his cultural background; his allegiances with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – defies typical lefty stereotypes. He has leveraged his physique in revealing magazine spreads or social media posts.

“To be frank, I had no clue that this is what I was going to be doing,” says Piker. “Like, 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 getting ready to start his regular late morning show. He usually streams live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking improvised about the news, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and responding to the never-ending stream of comments 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 studying political science. He eventually hosted 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 permeated the space.

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

The Challenge with the American Left

This is the fundamental issue with the American left in broad terms, says Piker: they’ve ceded so many cultural spaces to the right. “You absolutely have to promote your ideas … but they just completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is consistently critical of past administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is no loyal supporter of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democratic and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the standard position in much of the world.”

Controversies and Criticism

One of the risks of Piker’s type of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his opponents ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple times for perceived offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the context of a broader critique, he made a comment about a historic attack that was seized upon by right-wing media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was ill-chosen.

Likewise, 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 ridiculed 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 relish when my enemies hate me,” he states. “It is what it is.”

Real-World Consequences

The vitriol constantly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by US border agents on his return from a trip. They questioned him about his political opinions before letting him go. “I think they did it because they know 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 detractors jumped to the conclusion that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a major animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the ambush by a random in Dublin.

Piker handled the situation in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was edited from his live stream and shared with his reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said.

The Divide Between Digital and Real Worlds

This highlights the difference between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very hard to maintain a very negative energy in the real world without coming across as hysterical and odd. Exchanges 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 feels less safe. The assassination of a conservative commentator was a shocking 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 years,” he says. Unhealthy one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he acknowledges.

Looking Ahead and Finding Balance

Having been accurate about a recent election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “Things change quite quickly, 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 “wing”.

“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 anything in my power to try and prevent a dark 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 drawn further into legacy media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from traditional publishers.”

And on top of that, he clearly 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 marathon live stream is about to begin, and he’s itching to get started.