🔗 Share this article From Online Commentator to Ideological Lightning Rod: The Rise of Hasan Piker Hasan Piker dubs it the bus driver test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have a brief moment to explain any online event took place to the bus driver without them looking at you and going, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” Most online debate, no matter how fiery, does not pass the test, he says – not least an incident last weekend, when a person on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; trying to explain the importance of this particular event might well take the rest of this article. Navigating the Gray Space Piker increasingly exists in this gray area 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 dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an sought-after voice in “offline circles” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and especially that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men. A Favorite Hate Figure for the Right Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his detractors there is a lot to dislike: his direct political stances; his cultural background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – defies stereotypical lefty caricatures. 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,” 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 early and he’s preparing to start his regular late morning show. He typically streams live for seven to eight hours straight, talking off the cuff about the news, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and interacting with the constant stream of comments from viewers. From The Young Turks to Twitch Establishing himself on Twitch, which is primarily for streaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker says. His media career started out with The Young Turks, the progressive online news network. Piker’s 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 chose to go solo on Twitch, to provide an alternative to what he saw as overwhelmingly rightwing, and often divisive views that permeated the space. “You can find ideological variety amongst the gamers, amongst the developers, amongst the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political expression in this arena is so overwhelmingly dominated by the right,” he notes. The Problem with the American Left This is the core issue with the American left in broad terms, argues Piker: they’ve relinquished so many battlegrounds to the right. “You still have to market your ideas … but they simply completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.” Piker is regularly sharply critical of past administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is not a 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 Criticism One of the risks of Piker’s style of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which provides his critics ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple times for perceived offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the context of a wider critique, he made a statement 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 Palestinian rights and condemnation of certain government actions have led to allegations of bias, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed 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 relish when my enemies hate me,” he states. “It is what it is.” Real-World Repercussions The hate constantly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned 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 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 issued 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 edited from his live stream and disseminated with his reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said. The Difference Between Online and Real 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 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 conservative commentator was a harrowing example of where this online hate can lead. 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 dictate my life. I’ve gotten death threats for over a decade,” he says. Unhealthy parasocial relationships come with the territory, he accepts. The Future and Staying Grounded Having been prescient about the last election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite rapidly, but if you look at the areas where there is some semblance of hope, it’s the progressive candidates that are actually truly galvanising the public,” he says. He references the progressive “left flank”. “We have to embrace that, because I feel like it’s a matter of critical importance at this point,” he adds. “So I will do everything in my power to try and prevent a worse alternative.” The American left could arguably do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is interested in mainstream political office. He makes occasional media appearances, but he’s not tempted further into traditional media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from traditional publishers.” And 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 awaits, and he’s eager to get started.
Hasan Piker dubs it the bus driver test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have a brief moment to explain any online event took place to the bus driver without them looking at you and going, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” Most online debate, no matter how fiery, does not pass the test, he says – not least an incident last weekend, when a person on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; trying to explain the importance of this particular event might well take the rest of this article. Navigating the Gray Space Piker increasingly exists in this gray area 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 dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an sought-after voice in “offline circles” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and especially that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men. A Favorite Hate Figure for the Right Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his detractors there is a lot to dislike: his direct political stances; his cultural background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – defies stereotypical lefty caricatures. 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,” 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 early and he’s preparing to start his regular late morning show. He typically streams live for seven to eight hours straight, talking off the cuff about the news, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and interacting with the constant stream of comments from viewers. From The Young Turks to Twitch Establishing himself on Twitch, which is primarily for streaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker says. His media career started out with The Young Turks, the progressive online news network. Piker’s 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 chose to go solo on Twitch, to provide an alternative to what he saw as overwhelmingly rightwing, and often divisive views that permeated the space. “You can find ideological variety amongst the gamers, amongst the developers, amongst the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political expression in this arena is so overwhelmingly dominated by the right,” he notes. The Problem with the American Left This is the core issue with the American left in broad terms, argues Piker: they’ve relinquished so many battlegrounds to the right. “You still have to market your ideas … but they simply completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.” Piker is regularly sharply critical of past administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is not a 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 Criticism One of the risks of Piker’s style of informal, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which provides his critics ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch multiple times for perceived offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the context of a wider critique, he made a statement 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 Palestinian rights and condemnation of certain government actions have led to allegations of bias, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed 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 relish when my enemies hate me,” he states. “It is what it is.” Real-World Repercussions The hate constantly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned 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 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 issued 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 edited from his live stream and disseminated with his reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was shocked,” he said. The Difference Between Online and Real 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 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 conservative commentator was a harrowing example of where this online hate can lead. 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 dictate my life. I’ve gotten death threats for over a decade,” he says. Unhealthy parasocial relationships come with the territory, he accepts. The Future and Staying Grounded Having been prescient about the last election, how does Piker feel the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite rapidly, but if you look at the areas where there is some semblance of hope, it’s the progressive candidates that are actually truly galvanising the public,” he says. He references the progressive “left flank”. “We have to embrace that, because I feel like it’s a matter of critical importance at this point,” he adds. “So I will do everything in my power to try and prevent a worse alternative.” The American left could arguably do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is interested in mainstream political office. He makes occasional media appearances, but he’s not tempted further into traditional media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from traditional publishers.” And 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 awaits, and he’s eager to get started.