‘I relish when my enemies hate me’: how Hasan Piker emerged as a leading the most prominent figures on the American political left

Hasan Piker calls it a simple litmus test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have a brief moment to describe any online phenomena took place to the bus driver without them looking at you and going, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” Most online debate, regardless of how heated, fails the test, he says – including an incident last weekend, 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; trying to explain the importance of that specific event might well take the rest of this article.

Occupying the Blurred Zone

Piker operates in this liminal zone more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the thirty-four-year-old was familiar primarily to the very online, especially Americans in their twenties and thirties, mostly thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But since the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “the real world” for his analysis on the struggling political left, and especially that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Favorite Hate Figure for the Right

Predictably, this also makes Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to criticize: his outspoken political views; his Turkish, Muslim background; his associations with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – does not fit typical lefty caricatures. He has leveraged his appearance in shirtless magazine spreads or social media posts.

“To be frank, I had no idea that this is what I was going to be doing,” says 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 early and he’s getting ready to start his daily 11am show. He typically broadcasts live for seven or eight hours straight, talking off the cuff about the news, pop culture, what he’s up to, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and responding to the never-ending stream of messages from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Twitch

Establishing himself on Twitch, which is primarily for livestreaming video games, was a conscious 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 rightwing, and often toxic views that infested the space.

“You can find ideological variety among the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political commentary in this arena is so heavily dominated by the right,” he notes.

The Problem with the American Left

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

Piker is regularly sharply critical of recent administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is no loyal supporter of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democratic and “compassion-driven”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the standard position in most of the world.”

Controversies and Backlash

One of the dangers of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives his critics ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch several times for deemed offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the context of a broader critique, he made a comment about a national tragedy that was seized upon by right-wing media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the language was ill-chosen.

Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and criticism of certain state policies have led to accusations of bias, which he strongly rejects. He has also been ridiculed 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.”

Real-World Consequences

The hate constantly threatens 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 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 started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, made a noise suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists jumped to the conclusion that Piker was harming the animal, sparking a online controversy dubbed “collargate.” 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 edited from his live stream and shared 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 illustrates the difference between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very hard to maintain a very hostile 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 served as a harrowing example of where this online hate can lead. 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. Toxic parasocial relationships come with the territory, he acknowledges.

The Future and Finding Balance

Having been accurate 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 truly galvanising the public,” he says. He points to the progressive “wing”.

“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 anything in my power to try and prevent a worse alternative.”

The American left could arguably do with someone like Piker. But it doesn’t sound as if Piker is interested in traditional political office. He makes periodic media guest spots, but he’s not drawn further into legacy 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 marathon live stream is about to begin, and he’s itching to get started.