🔗 Share this article From Online Commentator to Political Figurehead: The Ascent of Hasan Piker Hasan Piker calls it the bus driver test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have half a minute to explain any online phenomena took place to the bus driver without them turning to you and saying, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online discourse, no matter how fiery, does not pass the test, he argues – not least a strange event last weekend, when someone 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 significance of this particular event might well take the remainder of this article. Existing in the In-Between Zone Piker operates in this liminal zone increasingly these days. Until relatively recently, the thirty-four-year-old was familiar only to the digitally immersed, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following the last presidential election, Piker has become an in-demand voice in “traditional media” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and especially that constantly discussed demographic, young men. A Prime Target for the Political Right Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his c critics there is a lot to dislike: his direct political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances with progressive politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – does not fit stereotypical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid his physique in revealing magazine photoshoots 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 preparing to start his daily late morning show. He usually broadcasts live for seven or eight hours straight, talking off the cuff about the news, lifestyle stories, his personal life, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending stream of messages from viewers. Beginning at The Young Turks to Solo Streaming Building himself on Twitch, which is primarily for streaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker says. His media career started out 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 provide an alternative to what he saw as overwhelmingly rightwing, and often toxic views that infested the space. “You can find ideological variety amongst the gamers, amongst the developers, among the consumers, but sadly, 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 fundamental problem with the American left in general, argues Piker: they’ve relinquished so many arenas to the right. “You absolutely have to promote your ideas … but they just completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.” Piker is consistently critical of recent 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 generally social democratic and “compassion-driven”, he explains. “My position is actually the normal position in much of the world.” Controversies and Criticism One of the dangers of Piker’s type of informal, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives his opponents ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch several times for deemed offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the context of a wider critique, he made a statement about a national tragedy that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the wording was inappropriate. Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and criticism of certain state policies have led to allegations of bias, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing admiration for a different 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 says. “It is what it is.” Real-World Repercussions The hate constantly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by American border agents on his return from a trip. They interrogated him about his political opinions before letting him go. “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 started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, yelped suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, sparking a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” 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 clipped 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 Offline Worlds This illustrates the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very negative energy in the real world without coming across as unhinged and odd. Interactions on the internet foster this environment where you can be as aggressive as you want.” That Dublin encounter was relatively 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 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 dictate my life. I’ve gotten death threats for years,” he says. Unhealthy one-sided fan dynamics come with the territory, he acknowledges. Looking Ahead and Finding Balance Having been prescient about a recent election, how does Piker view the next few years? “Things change quite rapidly, but if you look at the avenues 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 “wing”. “We have to lean into that, because I feel like it’s a matter of life or death at this point,” he adds. “So I will do anything in my power to try and prevent a dark alternative.” The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it doesn’t sound as if Piker is interested in traditional political office. He makes periodic 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.” 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 eager to get started.
Hasan Piker calls it the bus driver test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have half a minute to explain any online phenomena took place to the bus driver without them turning to you and saying, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online discourse, no matter how fiery, does not pass the test, he argues – not least a strange event last weekend, when someone 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 significance of this particular event might well take the remainder of this article. Existing in the In-Between Zone Piker operates in this liminal zone increasingly these days. Until relatively recently, the thirty-four-year-old was familiar only to the digitally immersed, particularly Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following the last presidential election, Piker has become an in-demand voice in “traditional media” for his analysis on the beleaguered political left, and especially that constantly discussed demographic, young men. A Prime Target for the Political Right Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his c critics there is a lot to dislike: his direct political stances; his Turkish, Muslim background; his allegiances with progressive politicians. But they also resent the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – does not fit stereotypical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid his physique in revealing magazine photoshoots 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 preparing to start his daily late morning show. He usually broadcasts live for seven or eight hours straight, talking off the cuff about the news, lifestyle stories, his personal life, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with the never-ending stream of messages from viewers. Beginning at The Young Turks to Solo Streaming Building himself on Twitch, which is primarily for streaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker says. His media career started out 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 provide an alternative to what he saw as overwhelmingly rightwing, and often toxic views that infested the space. “You can find ideological variety amongst the gamers, amongst the developers, among the consumers, but sadly, 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 fundamental problem with the American left in general, argues Piker: they’ve relinquished so many arenas to the right. “You absolutely have to promote your ideas … but they just completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.” Piker is consistently critical of recent 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 generally social democratic and “compassion-driven”, he explains. “My position is actually the normal position in much of the world.” Controversies and Criticism One of the dangers of Piker’s type of informal, relatable commentary is that he’ll sometimes go too far, which gives his opponents ammunition. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch several times for deemed offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the context of a wider critique, he made a statement about a national tragedy that was seized upon by conservative media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the wording was inappropriate. Similarly, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinians and criticism of certain state policies have led to allegations of bias, which he denies. He has also been ridiculed for expressing admiration for a different 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 says. “It is what it is.” Real-World Repercussions The hate constantly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by American border agents on his return from a trip. They interrogated him about his political opinions before letting him go. “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 started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, yelped suddenly. Online detractors swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, sparking a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” 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 clipped 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 Offline Worlds This illustrates the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very negative energy in the real world without coming across as unhinged and odd. Interactions on the internet foster this environment where you can be as aggressive as you want.” That Dublin encounter was relatively 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 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 dictate my life. I’ve gotten death threats for years,” he says. Unhealthy one-sided fan dynamics come with the territory, he acknowledges. Looking Ahead and Finding Balance Having been prescient about a recent election, how does Piker view the next few years? “Things change quite rapidly, but if you look at the avenues 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 “wing”. “We have to lean into that, because I feel like it’s a matter of life or death at this point,” he adds. “So I will do anything in my power to try and prevent a dark alternative.” The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it doesn’t sound as if Piker is interested in traditional political office. He makes periodic 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.” 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 eager to get started.