Hasan Piker refers to it the bus driver test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have 30 seconds to explain whatever online event took place to the bus driver before them looking at you and going, ‘Leave the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online debate, regardless of how heated, fails the test, he contends – including an incident last weekend, 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!” Never mind the bus driver; attempting to explain the significance of this particular event could easily take the rest of this article.
Existing in the Blurred Space
Piker operates in this gray area increasingly these days. Until relatively recently, the 34-year-old was familiar primarily to the very online, especially Americans in their twenties and thirties, mostly thanks to his presence on the streaming platform Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has become an in-demand voice in “the real world” for his views on the beleaguered political left, and specifically 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 c critics there is plenty to dislike: his outspoken political views; his cultural background; his allegiances with progressive politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – defies typical lefty stereotypes. He has not been afraid his physique in revealing 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 11am show. He usually streams live for seven to eight hours straight, talking off the cuff about the news, lifestyle stories, what he’s up to, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and responding to the constant stream of messages from viewers.
From The Young Turks to Solo Streaming
Establishing himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for streaming video games, was a deliberate decision, Piker explains. His media career began with The Young Turks, the progressive online news network. Piker’s parents are Turkish immigrants, and he grew up between New Jersey and Istanbul before studying political science. He eventually hosted his own show on the network in 2016 but in 2018 he chose to go solo on Twitch, to provide an alternative to what he saw as overwhelmingly rightwing, and often toxic views that infested the space.
“There’s a lot of ideological variety among the gamers, among the developers, amongst the consumers, but unfortunately, the market for political commentary in this hobby is so heavily dominated by the right,” he says.
The Problem with the American Left
This is the fundamental problem with the American left in general, argues Piker: they’ve relinquished so many battlegrounds to the right. “You absolutely have to market your ideas … but they just completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.”
Piker is consistently critical of past administrations on his show, particularly on foreign policy, but he is not a loyal supporter of the dominant center-left party. His own politics are generally social democrat and “compassion-driven”, he explains. “My position is actually the normal position in most of the world.”
Firestorms and Backlash
One of the dangers of Piker’s style of informal, relatable commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which provides his opponents fodder. He has been suspended 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 ill-chosen.
Likewise, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinians and criticism of certain government actions have led to allegations of bias, which he strongly rejects. 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 love when my enemies hate me,” he says. “It is what it is.”
Real-World Consequences
The vitriol constantly threatens to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was questioned by American border agents on his re-entry 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 originated from a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, made a noise suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, sparking a meme-fueled 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 shocked,” he said.
The Divide Between Online and Offline Worlds
This illustrates the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very negative energy in the real world without coming across as unhinged and odd. Exchanges on the internet create this environment where you can be as aggressive as you want.”
That Dublin encounter was relatively low stakes. In the US, he admits to feeling less safe. The assassination of a right-wing 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 one-sided fan dynamics come with the territory, he acknowledges.
The Future and Finding Balance
Having been accurate about the last 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 progressive candidates that are actually really galvanising the public,” he says. He points to the progressive “left flank”.
“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 prevent a dark alternative.”
The American left could arguably 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. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from legacy publishers.”
And on top of that, he still 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 awaits, and he’s itching to get started.
