‘I love when my enemies hate me’: the way Hasan Piker became one of the most prominent figures on the American political left

Hasan Piker dubs it an everyday benchmark: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have 30 seconds to clarify any online drama unfolded to the bus driver without them looking at you and going, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online discourse, regardless of how heated, does not pass the test, he argues – not least a strange event last weekend, when someone on a Dublin street requested to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; attempting to explain the significance of this particular event might well take the rest of this article.

Existing in the Blurred Zone

Piker operates in this gray area more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was familiar only to the very online, particularly Americans in their twenties and thirties, largely thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But since the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an sought-after voice in “offline circles” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and especially that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Favorite Target for the Political Right

Predictably, this also makes Piker a favorite hate figure of the political right. To his enemies there is a lot to criticize: his outspoken political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – does not fit stereotypical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid his appearance in shirtless magazine photoshoots or social media posts.

“I’ll be honest, I had no clue that this is what I was going to be doing,” says Piker. “Like, 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 or eight hours consecutively, talking unscripted about current affairs, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending stream of comments from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Twitch

Building himself on Twitch, which is primarily for livestreaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker explains. His media career started out with The Young Turks, the progressive online news network. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he grew up 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 counterbalance what he saw as dominantly rightwing, and often divisive views that infested the space.

“There’s a lot of ideological variety among 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 notes.

The Challenge with the American Left

This is the core issue with the American left in broad terms, argues Piker: they’ve conceded so many battlegrounds to the right. “You absolutely have to market your ideas … but they simply completely gave up on 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 major center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democratic and “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the standard position in much of the world.”

Controversies and Backlash

One of the risks of Piker’s type of informal, relatable commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his critics ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch multiple times for perceived offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the framework of a broader critique, he made a comment about a national tragedy that was seized upon by right-wing media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the wording was inappropriate.

Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain state policies 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 problem getting attacked by people on the right. I relish when my enemies hate me,” he says. “It is what it is.”

Real-World Repercussions

The vitriol constantly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by US border agents on his re-entry from a trip. They interrogated him about his views before releasing him. “I think they did it because they know 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, yelped suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was harming the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a prominent animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the ambush by a stranger in Dublin.

Piker handled the situation in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was clipped 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 Digital and Offline Worlds

This illustrates the chasm 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. Interactions on the internet create 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 was a shocking example of where this online hate can end up. Piker watched the event develop 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. Unhealthy parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he accepts.

Looking Ahead and Finding Balance

Having been prescient about a recent election, how does Piker view the next few years? “The landscape shifts 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 embrace 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. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from traditional publishers.”

But 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 lengthy live stream is about to begin, and he’s itching to get started.