Hasan Piker refers to it the bus driver test: “Picture yourself on a bus and you have half a minute to explain whatever online event unfolded to the bus driver without them looking at you and going, ‘Get off the fucking bus.’” The vast majority of online debate, regardless of how intense, does not pass the test, he says – including 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 shouted “Free Kaya!” Never mind the bus driver; attempting to explain the meaning of that specific event could easily take the rest of this article.
Occupying the In-Between Space
Piker finds himself in this liminal zone increasingly these days. Until relatively recently, the thirty-four-year-old was known primarily to the digitally immersed, particularly Americans in their twenties and thirties, largely thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But since a recent presidential election, Piker has transformed into an in-demand voice in “traditional media” for his analysis on the struggling political left, and specifically that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men.
A Favorite Hate Figure for the Political Right
Predictably, this also makes Piker a prime villain of the political right. To his enemies there is plenty to criticize: his blunt political stances; 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 leveraged his physique in shirtless magazine photoshoots or social media posts.
“I’ll be honest, I had no idea that this is what I was going to be doing,” states 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 daily late morning show. He typically streams live for seven or eight hours straight, talking off the cuff about the news, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and interacting with the constant stream of comments from viewers.
From The Young Turks to Solo Streaming
Building himself on Twitch, a platform primarily for streaming video games, was a conscious decision, Piker explains. His media career began with The Young Turks, the left-leaning online news network. His parents are Turkish immigrants, and he was raised 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 decided to go solo on Twitch, to counterbalance what he saw as dominantly rightwing, and often divisive 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 says.
The Problem with the American Left
This is the fundamental issue with the American left in general, says Piker: they’ve relinquished so many arenas to the right. “You still have to market your ideas … but they just completely abandoned all notion of marketing or branding.”
Piker is consistently sharply critical of recent administrations on his show, especially 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 viewpoint is actually the normal position in most of the world.”
Controversies and Backlash
One of the dangers of Piker’s type of relaxed, relatable commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his opponents fodder. He has been temporarily banned from Twitch several times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the context of a broader critique, he made a statement about a national tragedy that was amplified by right-wing media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the language was ill-chosen.
Similarly, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinian rights and condemnation of certain state policies have led to allegations of bias, which he denies. He has also been mocked 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 questioned by American border agents on his re-entry from travel abroad. They questioned him about his views before letting him go. “I think they did it because they know who I am,” he said.
These levels of hostility help explain the “Free Kaya!” incident in Dublin. It started with a Twitch stream where his dog, Kaya, yelped suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists jumped to the conclusion that Piker was mistreating the animal, sparking a online controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a prominent animal rights organization issued 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 Real Worlds
This illustrates the difference between the offline and online worlds, he explains: “It’s very difficult to maintain a very hostile energy in the real world without coming across as unhinged 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 fatal shooting of a right-wing commentator served as a shocking example of where this online hate can lead. Piker watched the event unfold 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. Toxic parasocial relationships are part of the territory, he acknowledges.
The Future and Finding Balance
Having been prescient about a recent election, how does Piker feel 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 left candidates that are actually truly galvanising the public,” he says. He references the progressive “left flank”.
“We have to embrace that, because I feel like it’s a matter of life or death at this point,” he continues. “So I will do everything in my power to try and avoid a dark alternative.”
The American left could arguably do with someone like Piker. But it seems unlikely as if Piker is tempted in traditional 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.”
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 marathon live stream is about to begin, and he’s eager to get started.
