‘I love when my foes despise me’: the way Hasan Piker rose to become a leading the largest figures on the American left

Hasan Piker refers to it an everyday benchmark: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have half a minute to clarify whatever online event unfolded to the bus driver without them looking at you and saying, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online conversation, regardless of how intense, does not pass 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 produced a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; attempting to explain the meaning of that specific event could easily take the rest of this article.

Navigating the Blurred Zone

Piker increasingly exists in this in-between space more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was familiar only to the very online, especially Americans in their 20s and 30s, largely thanks to his presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has become an sought-after voice in “the real world” for his views on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Favorite Hate Figure for the Right

Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a favorite hate figure of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot to dislike: his blunt political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his associations 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 not been afraid his appearance in revealing magazine photoshoots or social media posts.

“To be frank, I had no clue that this is what I was going to be doing,” says 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 early and he’s getting ready to start his daily 11am show. He usually streams live for seven to eight hours straight, talking improvised about the news, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, reacting to 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 streaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker explains. His media career began with The Young Turks, the progressive online news network. Piker’s 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 chose to go solo on Twitch, to provide an alternative to what he saw as overwhelmingly rightwing, and often divisive views that infested the space.

“There’s a lot of ideological variety 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 says.

The Problem with the American Left

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

Piker is regularly 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 generally social democrat and “compassion-driven”, he clarifies. “My viewpoint is actually the normal position in much of the world.”

Firestorms and Backlash

One of the risks of Piker’s type of informal, relatable commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which provides his critics ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple times for deemed offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the framework 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 ill-chosen.

Likewise, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinian rights and condemnation of certain government actions have led to accusations of bias, which he strongly rejects. He has also been mocked for expressing praise for a different major global power, after a trip there.

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

Real-World Repercussions

The hate constantly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by American border agents on his return from travel abroad. They interrogated 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 enmity 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 mistreating 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 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 shocked,” he said.

The Divide Between Digital and Real Worlds

This illustrates the difference 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 unhinged and odd. Exchanges 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 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 develop in real time on his stream.

Piker continues to do real-life streams in the US. “I can’t let fear guide my life. I’ve gotten death threats for years,” he says. Unhealthy one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he accepts.

Looking Ahead and Finding Balance

Having been accurate about a recent election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite quickly, but if you look at the areas where there is some semblance of hope, it’s the progressive candidates that are actually really galvanising the public,” he says. He references the progressive “wing”.

“We have to embrace 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 worse alternative.”

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

But 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.