‘I adore when my enemies hate me’: the way Hasan Piker rose to become among the most prominent personalities on the American left

Hasan Piker refers to it the bus driver test: “You get on a bus and you have half a minute to clarify any online phenomena took place to the bus driver without them turning to you and saying, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online debate, regardless of how intense, fails the test, he argues – not least a strange event recently, when a person on a Dublin street requested to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and yelled “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; trying to explain the significance of that specific event could easily take the remainder of this article.

Occupying the Gray Zone

Piker increasingly exists in this in-between space increasingly these days. Until relatively recently, the thirty-four-year-old was familiar only to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their 20s and 30s, largely thanks to his presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But since the last presidential election, Piker has become an in-demand voice in “offline circles” for his views on the struggling political left, and specifically that constantly fretted-over demographic, young men.

A Favorite Hate Figure for the Political Right

Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a prime target of the political right. To his detractors there is a lot to dislike: his blunt political views; his cultural background; his associations with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – physically imposing and charismatic – does not fit typical lefty caricatures. He has not been afraid his physique in shirtless magazine photoshoots or social media posts.

“To be frank, 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 ever think 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 usually broadcasts live for seven to eight hours consecutively, talking unscripted about current affairs, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and interacting with the constant stream of comments from viewers.

Beginning at The Young Turks to Twitch

Building himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for livestreaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker explains. His media career began 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 rightwing, and often toxic views that infested the space.

“You can find ideological variety among the gamers, among the developers, among 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 issue with the American left in general, argues Piker: they’ve ceded so many cultural spaces to the right. “You absolutely have to promote your ideas … but they just completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.”

Piker is consistently sharply critical of past administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal member of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are broadly social democrat and “compassion-driven”, he explains. “My position is actually the normal position in most of the world.”

Controversies and Backlash

One of the risks of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which provides his opponents fodder. He has been suspended from Twitch multiple times for perceived offensive content. Most notoriously, in 2019, in the framework of a wider critique, he made a statement about a national tragedy that was seized upon by right-wing media outlets. Piker later expressed regret and said the wording was inappropriate.

Likewise, Piker’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights and condemnation of certain state policies have led to accusations of bias, which he strongly rejects. He has also been ridiculed for expressing praise 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 states. “It is what it is.”

Real-World Repercussions

The hate increasingly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by American border agents on his return from travel abroad. They questioned him about his political opinions before letting him go. “I think they did it because they know 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 jumped to the conclusion that Piker was mistreating the animal, sparking a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “collargate.” Even a major animal rights organization put out a statement. This led to the ambush by a stranger in Dublin.

Piker took that encounter 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 devastated,” he said.

The Divide Between Digital and Real Worlds

This highlights the difference between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very hard to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world and not coming across as hysterical and odd. Interactions on the internet foster 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 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 over a decade,” he says. Toxic one-sided fan dynamics are part of the territory, he acknowledges.

The Future and Staying Grounded

Having been accurate about the last election, how does Piker view the next few years? “The landscape shifts quite quickly, 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 points to the progressive “wing”.

“We have to lean into that, because I feel like it’s a matter of critical importance at this point,” he continues. “So I will do anything in my power to try and avoid a worse alternative.”

The American left could perhaps do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is interested in mainstream political office. He makes periodic media appearances, but he’s not drawn further into legacy media, he says. “The audience is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.”

But on top of that, he still 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.