From Online Streamer to Political Figurehead: The Ascent of Hasan Piker

Hasan Piker dubs it the bus driver test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have half a minute to describe any online phenomena occurred to the bus driver before them looking at you and going, ‘Get off the fucking bus.’” Most online conversation, no matter how fiery, fails the test, he says – including a strange event recently, when a person on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then held up a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; attempting to explain the meaning of that specific event might well take the rest of this article.

Occupying the Gray Space

Piker operates in this gray area more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the thirty-four-year-old was familiar only to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has become an sought-after voice in “traditional media” for his perspectives on the struggling political left, and specifically that inordinately discussed demographic, young men.

A Prime Target for the Right

Predictably, this also makes Piker a prime target of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot to dislike: his blunt political views; his cultural background; his allegiances with progressive politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – defies typical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid his physique in shirtless 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 late morning show. He typically streams live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking improvised about current affairs, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and interacting with the constant stream of messages from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Solo Streaming

Building himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for livestreaming video games, was a deliberate 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 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 dominantly conservative, and often divisive views that permeated the space.

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

The Challenge with the American Left

This is the core issue with the American left in general, says Piker: they’ve ceded so many battlegrounds to the right. “You absolutely have to promote your ideas … but they just completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is consistently 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 generally social democratic and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My viewpoint is actually the standard position in most of the world.”

Firestorms and Criticism

One of the risks of Piker’s type of informal, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which provides his opponents fodder. He has been suspended from Twitch multiple times for perceived offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the framework of a broader critique, he made a statement about a national tragedy that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was inappropriate.

Similarly, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinians and criticism of certain government actions have led to accusations of bias, which he strongly rejects. 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 relish when my enemies hate me,” he states. “It is what it is.”

Offline Repercussions

The hate increasingly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by US border agents on his return from a trip. They questioned him about his views 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, made a noise suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists jumped to the conclusion that Piker was harming the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a major animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the surprise encounter by a stranger in Dublin.

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

The Divide Between Online and Real Worlds

This illustrates the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world without coming across as unhinged and odd. Interactions on the internet foster 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 fatal shooting 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 years,” he says. Toxic one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he accepts.

The Future and Finding Balance

Having been accurate about a recent 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 semblance of hope, it’s the left candidates that are actually truly galvanising the public,” he says. He references 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 interested in traditional political office. He makes periodic media appearances, but he’s not drawn further into legacy media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.”

But on top of that, he still 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 marathon live stream is about to begin, and he’s eager to get started.