Hasan Piker dubs it the bus driver test: “Imagine boarding a bus and you have a brief moment to describe whatever online phenomena unfolded to the bus driver without them turning to you and saying, ‘Leave the damn bus.’” The vast majority of online conversation, no matter how intense, fails the test, he contends – not least a strange event last weekend, when a person on a Dublin street asked to take a picture with Piker, then produced a picture of his dog and shouted “Free Kaya!” Forget the bus driver; trying to explain the meaning of that specific event could easily take the remainder of this article.
Existing in the Blurred Zone
Piker operates in this liminal zone more and more these days. Until fairly recently, the thirty-four-year-old was known only to the digitally immersed, especially Americans in their 20s and 30s, mostly thanks to his dominant presence on the streaming channel Twitch. But following a recent presidential election, Piker has become an sought-after voice in “traditional media” for his analysis on the struggling political left, and especially that inordinately discussed demographic, young men.
A Favorite Target for the Right
Unsurprisingly, this also makes Piker a prime target of the political right. To his detractors there is plenty to criticize: his direct political views; his Turkish, Muslim background; his associations with left-wing politicians. But they also take issue with the fact that Piker – tall, muscular, fashionable and handsome – does not fit typical lefty caricatures. He has leveraged his appearance in shirtless magazine spreads 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 ever think that you’d become a Twitch streamer? I’d be like, what is Twitch?”
It’s the morning and he’s preparing to start his daily 11am show. He typically streams live for seven or eight hours straight, talking improvised about the news, pop culture, his personal life, playing video games, engaging with memes and media clips, and responding to 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 conscious 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 eventually hosted 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 divisive views that infested the space.
“There’s a lot of ideological diversity amongst the gamers, among the developers, among the consumers, but sadly, the market for political commentary in this hobby is so heavily 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 ceded so many battlegrounds to the right. “You still have to market your ideas … but they simply completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.”
Piker is consistently sharply critical of recent 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 “empathy-first”, he clarifies. “My position is actually the normal position in most of the world.”
Firestorms and Criticism
One of the risks of Piker’s type of informal, relatable commentary is that he’ll occasionally go too far, which gives his critics ammunition. He has been suspended from Twitch several times for deemed offensive content. In a highly publicized incident, in 2019, in the framework of a broader critique, he made a statement about a historic attack that was amplified by right-wing media outlets. Piker later apologised and said the language was ill-chosen.
Similarly, Piker’s vocal support for Palestinians and condemnation of certain state policies have led to accusations of bias, which he denies. He has also been mocked for expressing admiration for another major global power, after a trip there.
“I have no problem getting attacked by people on the right. I love when my enemies hate me,” he says. “It is what it is.”
Offline Repercussions
The vitriol increasingly risks to spill offline, however. On one occasion, Piker was detained by American border agents on his re-entry from travel abroad. They interrogated him about his political opinions before releasing him. “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, made a noise suddenly. Online conspiracy theorists swiftly concluded that Piker was mistreating the animal, igniting a meme-fueled controversy dubbed “the collar incident.” Even a major animal rights organization issued a statement. This led to the surprise encounter by a random in Dublin.
Piker handled the situation in his stride. Online, though, the encounter was edited from his live stream and disseminated with his response edited out. “They wanted to make it look like I was devastated,” he said.
The Divide Between Digital and Real Worlds
This illustrates the chasm between the offline and online worlds, he says: “It’s very hard to maintain a very negative 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 aggressive as you want.”
That Dublin encounter was fairly low stakes. In the US, he feels less safe. The fatal shooting 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 continues to 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 parasocial relationships come with the territory, he acknowledges.
Looking Ahead and Staying Grounded
Having been prescient about the last election, how does Piker view the next few years? “Things change quite quickly, 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 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 adds. “So I will do everything in my power to try and prevent a dark 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 guest spots, but he’s not drawn further into traditional media, he says. “Viewers is moving in my direction, and away from traditional publishers.”
But on top of that, he still finds it fulfilling: “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.
