🔗 Share this article From Online Commentator to Ideological Lightning Rod: The Ascent of Hasan Piker Hasan Piker calls it the bus driver test: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have a brief moment to describe any online drama unfolded to the bus driver without them turning to you and going, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online debate, regardless of how heated, does not pass the test, he contends – including a strange event recently, when someone on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; trying to explain the meaning of this particular event could easily take the rest of this article. Navigating the In-Between Zone Piker increasingly exists in this gray area more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the thirty-four-year-old was known primarily to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But following the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “traditional media” for his perspectives on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men. A Favorite Hate Figure for the Political Right Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a favorite villain of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to dislike: his direct political views; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances with progressive politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – does not fit typical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid his physique in revealing 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. “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 regular 11am show. He usually broadcasts live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking unscripted about the news, pop culture, what he’s up to, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and responding to the constant stream of messages from viewers. From The Young Turks to Twitch Establishing 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 progressive online news network. Piker’s 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 counterbalance what he saw as overwhelmingly conservative, and often toxic views that infested the space. “There’s a lot of ideological diversity amongst the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political commentary in this arena is so overwhelmingly dominated by the right,” he notes. The Challenge with the American Left This is the core problem with the American left in general, says Piker: they’ve conceded 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 consistently sharply critical of past administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is no loyal member of the major 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.” Firestorms and Backlash One of the risks of Piker’s style of relaxed, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his critics ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch multiple times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the context of a wider critique, he made a statement about a historic attack that was amplified by right-wing media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the language was ill-chosen. Likewise, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain state policies have led to allegations of prejudice, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing praise for another major global power, after a trip there. “I have no issues getting attacked by people on the right. I love 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 return from travel abroad. They questioned him about his political opinions before releasing him. “I think they did it because they are aware of 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, yelped suddenly. Online detractors jumped to the conclusion that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a major animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the ambush by a stranger in Dublin. Piker took that encounter 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 devastated,” he said. The Divide Between Online and Real Worlds This illustrates the chasm 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 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 fatal shooting 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 continues to do real-life streams in the US. “I can’t let fear guide my life. I’ve gotten death threats for over a decade,” he says. Toxic parasocial relationships come with the territory, he acknowledges. Looking Ahead 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 progressive candidates that are actually really galvanising the public,” he says. He points to 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 doesn’t sound as if Piker is tempted in traditional political office. He makes occasional media appearances, 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 clearly finds it fulfilling: “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 calls it the bus driver test: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have a brief moment to describe any online drama unfolded to the bus driver without them turning to you and going, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online debate, regardless of how heated, does not pass the test, he contends – including a strange event recently, when someone on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; trying to explain the meaning of this particular event could easily take the rest of this article. Navigating the In-Between Zone Piker increasingly exists in this gray area more and more these days. Until relatively recently, the thirty-four-year-old was known primarily to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But following the last presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “traditional media” for his perspectives on the beleaguered political left, and specifically that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men. A Favorite Hate Figure for the Political Right Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a favorite villain of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to dislike: his direct political views; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances with progressive politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – does not fit typical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid his physique in revealing 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. “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 regular 11am show. He usually broadcasts live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking unscripted about the news, pop culture, what he’s up to, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and responding to the constant stream of messages from viewers. From The Young Turks to Twitch Establishing 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 progressive online news network. Piker’s 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 counterbalance what he saw as overwhelmingly conservative, and often toxic views that infested the space. “There’s a lot of ideological diversity amongst the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political commentary in this arena is so overwhelmingly dominated by the right,” he notes. The Challenge with the American Left This is the core problem with the American left in general, says Piker: they’ve conceded 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 consistently sharply critical of past administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is no loyal member of the major 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.” Firestorms and Backlash One of the risks of Piker’s style of relaxed, accessible commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his critics ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch multiple times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the context of a wider critique, he made a statement about a historic attack that was amplified by right-wing media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the language was ill-chosen. Likewise, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinian rights and criticism of certain state policies have led to allegations of prejudice, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing praise for another major global power, after a trip there. “I have no issues getting attacked by people on the right. I love 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 return from travel abroad. They questioned him about his political opinions before releasing him. “I think they did it because they are aware of 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, yelped suddenly. Online detractors jumped to the conclusion that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a online controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a major animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the ambush by a stranger in Dublin. Piker took that encounter 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 devastated,” he said. The Divide Between Online and Real Worlds This illustrates the chasm 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 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 fatal shooting 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 continues to do real-life streams in the US. “I can’t let fear guide my life. I’ve gotten death threats for over a decade,” he says. Toxic parasocial relationships come with the territory, he acknowledges. Looking Ahead 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 progressive candidates that are actually really galvanising the public,” he says. He points to 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 doesn’t sound as if Piker is tempted in traditional political office. He makes occasional media appearances, 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 clearly finds it fulfilling: “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.