🔗 Share this article From Online Commentator to Ideological Lightning Rod: The Ascent 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 event took place to the bus driver without them looking at you and saying, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online discourse, no matter how fiery, fails the test, he says – including an incident last weekend, 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 this particular event might well take the rest of this article. Navigating the Blurred Space Piker increasingly exists in this liminal zone more and more these days. Until fairly recently, the 34-year-old was known only to the very online, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “traditional media” for his views on the struggling political left, and especially that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men. A Favorite Hate Figure for the Political Right Predictably, this also makes Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot to criticize: his direct political stances; his cultural background; his allegiances 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 physique in shirtless magazine photoshoots or social media posts. “I’ll be honest, I had no idea 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 late morning show. He usually streams live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking improvised about current affairs, pop culture, what he’s up to, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending 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 conscious decision, Piker says. His media career started out with The Young Turks, the left-leaning online news network. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he was raised between New Jersey and Istanbul before majoring in political science. He eventually hosted his own show on the network in 2016 but in 2018 he decided to go solo on Twitch, to provide an alternative to what he saw as overwhelmingly rightwing, and often divisive views that permeated the space. “There’s a lot of ideological diversity amongst the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political expression in this hobby 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 broad terms, argues Piker: they’ve relinquished so many arenas 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 regularly critical of past 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 democrat and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the standard position in much of the world.” Controversies and Backlash One of the dangers of Piker’s style of relaxed, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives his critics fodder. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple times for perceived offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the framework of a wider critique, he made a comment about a historic attack 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 condemnation of certain government actions have led to allegations of prejudice, which he strongly rejects. He has also been mocked 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 states. “It is what it is.” Offline Repercussions The vitriol increasingly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by American border agents on his return from a trip. They questioned him about his views before letting him go. “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, yelped suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists swiftly concluded that Piker was harming the animal, igniting a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent animal rights organization put out 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 response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said. The Difference Between Digital and Offline Worlds This highlights the difference between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “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 foster this environment where you can be as hostile as you want.” That Dublin encounter was fairly 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 unfold 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 parasocial relationships come with the territory, he acknowledges. The Future and Finding Balance Having been prescient about the last 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 left 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 critical importance at this point,” he continues. “So I will do anything in my power to try and avoid a worse 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 occasional media guest spots, but he’s not tempted further into traditional media, he says. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from legacy 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.
Hasan Piker refers to it the bus driver test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have a brief moment to clarify any online event took place to the bus driver without them looking at you and saying, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online discourse, no matter how fiery, fails the test, he says – including an incident last weekend, 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 this particular event might well take the rest of this article. Navigating the Blurred Space Piker increasingly exists in this liminal zone more and more these days. Until fairly recently, the 34-year-old was known only to the very online, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “traditional media” for his views on the struggling political left, and especially that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men. A Favorite Hate Figure for the Political Right Predictably, this also makes Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot to criticize: his direct political stances; his cultural background; his allegiances 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 physique in shirtless magazine photoshoots or social media posts. “I’ll be honest, I had no idea 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 late morning show. He usually streams live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking improvised about current affairs, pop culture, what he’s up to, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending 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 conscious decision, Piker says. His media career started out with The Young Turks, the left-leaning online news network. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he was raised between New Jersey and Istanbul before majoring in political science. He eventually hosted his own show on the network in 2016 but in 2018 he decided to go solo on Twitch, to provide an alternative to what he saw as overwhelmingly rightwing, and often divisive views that permeated the space. “There’s a lot of ideological diversity amongst the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political expression in this hobby 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 broad terms, argues Piker: they’ve relinquished so many arenas 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 regularly critical of past 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 democrat and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the standard position in much of the world.” Controversies and Backlash One of the dangers of Piker’s style of relaxed, accessible commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives his critics fodder. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple times for perceived offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the framework of a wider critique, he made a comment about a historic attack 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 condemnation of certain government actions have led to allegations of prejudice, which he strongly rejects. He has also been mocked 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 states. “It is what it is.” Offline Repercussions The vitriol increasingly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by American border agents on his return from a trip. They questioned him about his views before letting him go. “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, yelped suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists swiftly concluded that Piker was harming the animal, igniting a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent animal rights organization put out 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 response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said. The Difference Between Digital and Offline Worlds This highlights the difference between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “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 foster this environment where you can be as hostile as you want.” That Dublin encounter was fairly 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 unfold 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 parasocial relationships come with the territory, he acknowledges. The Future and Finding Balance Having been prescient about the last 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 left 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 critical importance at this point,” he continues. “So I will do anything in my power to try and avoid a worse 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 occasional media guest spots, but he’s not tempted further into traditional media, he says. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from legacy 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.