‘I relish when my enemies hate me’: the way Hasan Piker became a leading the largest personalities on the US left

Hasan Piker dubs it an everyday benchmark: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have a brief moment to clarify any online event took place to the bus driver before them turning to you and saying, ‘Get off the damn bus.’” Most online discourse, no matter how intense, 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 held up a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; attempting to explain the meaning of that specific event could easily take the remainder of this article.

Existing in the In-Between Zone

Piker operates in this liminal zone increasingly 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 a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an sought-after voice in “offline circles” 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 positions Piker a favorite hate figure of the political right. To his enemies there is plenty to dislike: his direct political views; his cultural background; his associations with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – defies 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 the morning and he’s getting ready to start his regular late morning show. He typically broadcasts live for seven or eight hours consecutively, talking improvised 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 Solo Streaming

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 left-leaning online news network. Piker’s parents are Turkish immigrants, and he grew up between New Jersey and Istanbul before majoring in political science. He graduated to his own show on the network in 2016 but in 2018 he chose to go solo on Twitch, to counterbalance what he saw as dominantly conservative, and often toxic views that infested the space.

“There’s a lot of ideological variety amongst the gamers, amongst the developers, amongst the consumers, but sadly, the market for political expression in this hobby 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 relinquished so many arenas to the right. “You absolutely have to promote your ideas … but they simply completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is regularly critical of past administrations on his show, especially on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal supporter of the major center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democratic and “empathy-first”, he explains. “My position is actually the normal position in most 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 temporarily banned from Twitch multiple times for perceived offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the context of a wider critique, he made a comment about a national tragedy that was amplified by conservative media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was inappropriate.

Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and condemnation of certain state policies have led to allegations of prejudice, which he strongly rejects. He has also been mocked for expressing praise for another major global power, after a trip there.

“I have no problem getting vilified by people on the right. I relish when my enemies hate me,” he states. “It is what it is.”

Real-World Repercussions

The hate increasingly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned 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 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 jumped to the conclusion that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” 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 clipped from his live stream and disseminated with his reply edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said.

The Divide 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 hostile energy in the real world and not coming across as unhinged and odd. Exchanges on the internet create this environment where you can be as hostile as you want.”

That Dublin encounter was relatively low stakes. In the US, he admits to feeling less safe. The fatal shooting of a conservative commentator was a shocking 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. Unhealthy one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he acknowledges.

Looking Ahead and Finding Balance

Having been prescient about a recent 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 glimmer 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 adds. “So I will do everything 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 interested in mainstream political office. He makes periodic media guest spots, but he’s not tempted further into traditional media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from traditional 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 is about to begin, and he’s itching to get started.