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

Hasan Piker calls it an everyday benchmark: “You get on a bus and you have a brief moment to clarify whatever online event occurred to the bus driver before them looking at you and saying, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” Most online discourse, no matter how intense, does not pass the test, he contends – including a strange event recently, 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!” Forget the bus driver; trying to explain the meaning of that specific event might well take the rest of this article.

Existing in the Gray 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 digitally immersed, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, largely thanks to his presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But since the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “traditional media” for his perspectives on the beleaguered political left, and especially that inordinately discussed demographic, young men.

A Prime Hate Figure for the Right

Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a prime hate figure of the political right. To his c critics there is a lot to dislike: his blunt political stances; his cultural background; his allegiances with progressive politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – does not fit stereotypical lefty caricatures. He has leveraged his appearance in revealing magazine spreads or social media posts.

“To be frank, 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 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 daily 11am show. He usually streams live for seven to eight hours straight, talking unscripted 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 messages from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Building himself on Twitch, which is primarily for streaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker explains. His media career started out with The Young Turks, the left-leaning online news network. Piker’s parents are Turkish immigrants, and he grew up 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 dominantly rightwing, and often toxic views that permeated 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 fundamental issue with the American left in general, says Piker: they’ve ceded so many cultural spaces 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 not a loyal member of the major center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democratic and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the standard position in most of the world.”

Controversies and Backlash

One of the dangers of Piker’s style of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives his opponents ammunition. 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 comment about a historic attack that was seized upon by right-wing media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the wording was ill-chosen.

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

“I have no problem getting attacked by people on the right. I relish when my enemies hate me,” he says. “It is what it is.”

Offline Consequences

The hate increasingly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by US 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 know 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, igniting a online controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the surprise encounter by a random in Dublin.

Piker took that encounter in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was edited from his live stream and shared 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 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 hostile as you want.”

That Dublin encounter was fairly low stakes. In the US, he feels less safe. The assassination of a right-wing 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. Unhealthy parasocial relationships come with the territory, he acknowledges.

The Future and Finding Balance

Having been prescient about the last election, how does Piker view the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite rapidly, but if you look at the avenues where there is some glimmer of hope, it’s the progressive 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 continues. “So I will do anything in my power to try and avoid a dark alternative.”

The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is tempted in traditional political office. He makes periodic media guest spots, but he’s not drawn further into legacy media, he says. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.”

And on top of that, he clearly enjoys it: “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.