🔗 Share this article From Digital Streamer to Ideological Lightning Rod: The Rise of Hasan Piker Hasan Piker refers to it the bus driver test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have a brief moment to clarify any online phenomena took place to the bus driver before them looking at you and saying, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online discourse, regardless of how fiery, fails the test, he contends – not least an incident 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 meaning of this particular event could easily take the remainder of this article. Navigating the In-Between Space Piker finds himself in this liminal zone more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was known only to the very online, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, largely thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an sought-after voice in “traditional media” for his perspectives on the beleaguered political left, and especially that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men. A Favorite Target for the Right Predictably, this also positions Piker a prime target of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to criticize: his outspoken political stances; his cultural background; his associations with progressive politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – defies typical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid his physique in shirtless magazine photoshoots 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 imagine that you’d become a Twitch streamer? I’d be like, what is Twitch?” It’s early and he’s preparing to start his regular 11am 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 responding to the never-ending stream of comments from viewers. Beginning at The Young Turks to Twitch Establishing 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 left-leaning online news network. His 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 divisive views that infested the space. “You can find ideological diversity amongst the gamers, amongst the developers, among the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political commentary in this arena is so heavily dominated by the right,” he says. The Challenge with the American Left This is the core issue with the American left in general, argues Piker: they’ve ceded so many arenas to the right. “You absolutely have to promote your ideas … but they simply completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.” Piker is regularly sharply critical of recent administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal supporter of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “compassion-driven”, he explains. “My position is actually the normal position in most of the world.” Controversies and Backlash One of the dangers of Piker’s type of relaxed, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his critics ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the framework of a broader critique, he made a comment about a historic attack that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the language was inappropriate. Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain state policies have led to accusations of prejudice, which he strongly rejects. He has also been ridiculed for expressing praise for another 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 says. “It is what it is.” Offline Consequences The vitriol constantly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by US border agents on his return from travel abroad. They interrogated 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 enmity help explain the “Free Kaya!” incident in Dublin. It started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, yelped suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, sparking a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a prominent animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the surprise encounter 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 reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said. The Divide Between Online 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 unhinged and odd. Interactions on the internet foster 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 assassination of a conservative commentator served as a shocking 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 years,” he says. Toxic one-sided fan dynamics come with the territory, he accepts. Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded Having been accurate about the last election, how does Piker view the next few years? “Things change quite rapidly, but if you look at the avenues where there is some glimmer of hope, it’s the left candidates that are actually truly 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 everything in my power to try and avoid a worse alternative.” The American left could arguably do with someone like Piker. But it doesn’t sound as if Piker is tempted in mainstream political office. He makes occasional media guest spots, but he’s not drawn further into legacy media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.” And 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 marathon live stream awaits, and he’s eager to get started.
Hasan Piker refers to it the bus driver test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have a brief moment to clarify any online phenomena took place to the bus driver before them looking at you and saying, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online discourse, regardless of how fiery, fails the test, he contends – not least an incident 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 meaning of this particular event could easily take the remainder of this article. Navigating the In-Between Space Piker finds himself in this liminal zone more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was known only to the very online, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, largely thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an sought-after voice in “traditional media” for his perspectives on the beleaguered political left, and especially that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men. A Favorite Target for the Right Predictably, this also positions Piker a prime target of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to criticize: his outspoken political stances; his cultural background; his associations with progressive politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – defies typical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid his physique in shirtless magazine photoshoots 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 imagine that you’d become a Twitch streamer? I’d be like, what is Twitch?” It’s early and he’s preparing to start his regular 11am 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 responding to the never-ending stream of comments from viewers. Beginning at The Young Turks to Twitch Establishing 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 left-leaning online news network. His 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 divisive views that infested the space. “You can find ideological diversity amongst the gamers, amongst the developers, among the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political commentary in this arena is so heavily dominated by the right,” he says. The Challenge with the American Left This is the core issue with the American left in general, argues Piker: they’ve ceded so many arenas to the right. “You absolutely have to promote your ideas … but they simply completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.” Piker is regularly sharply critical of recent administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal supporter of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “compassion-driven”, he explains. “My position is actually the normal position in most of the world.” Controversies and Backlash One of the dangers of Piker’s type of relaxed, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his critics ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the framework of a broader critique, he made a comment about a historic attack that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the language was inappropriate. Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain state policies have led to accusations of prejudice, which he strongly rejects. He has also been ridiculed for expressing praise for another 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 says. “It is what it is.” Offline Consequences The vitriol constantly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by US border agents on his return from travel abroad. They interrogated 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 enmity help explain the “Free Kaya!” incident in Dublin. It started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, yelped suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, sparking a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a prominent animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the surprise encounter 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 reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said. The Divide Between Online 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 unhinged and odd. Interactions on the internet foster 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 assassination of a conservative commentator served as a shocking 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 years,” he says. Toxic one-sided fan dynamics come with the territory, he accepts. Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded Having been accurate about the last election, how does Piker view the next few years? “Things change quite rapidly, but if you look at the avenues where there is some glimmer of hope, it’s the left candidates that are actually truly 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 everything in my power to try and avoid a worse alternative.” The American left could arguably do with someone like Piker. But it doesn’t sound as if Piker is tempted in mainstream political office. He makes occasional media guest spots, but he’s not drawn further into legacy media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.” And 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 marathon live stream awaits, and he’s eager to get started.