3.1 million users follow the left-wing influencer Hasan Piker's channel HasanAbi on the streaming platform Twitch, where he basically broadcasts political commentary live for many hours every day. Another millions of followers are on Youtube, Instagram and X, an audience of mainly young adults.
A forceful and well-read debater some say, while others call him an anti-Semitic, anti-American provocateur. Clearly, he is stirring up emotions in the political establishment, even if a majority of voters probably haven't heard of him - or as a Guardian headline put it: "Most people don't know Hasan Piker. The rest say he's influencing this year's election."
Hasan Piker describes himself as a socialist – loves Lenin and hates NATO – but effortlessly swings at those in power in all camps. With statements such as "the US deserved 9/11" and that Orthodox Jews are "inbred" (he has retracted both) he of course attracts both attention and outrage.
"I'm here to mobilize young Americans who feel left out, who feel apathetic because they realize that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans are paying attention to their needs," he explained his commitment to the National News Desk in August.
- I am neither a consultant nor a party functionary. I'm a socialist. I care about improving the material conditions of the working class.
Many have called him a leftist version of the provocative super-podder Joe Rogan or the conservative debater Charlie Kirk. It was Kirk that Piker had debated against at Politicon 2018 and would do so again at the prestigious Dartmouth University last year. Just over two weeks before, Kirk was shot to death and Piker was on the air when it happened: "My God, he was definitely shot in the neck, damn it!"
- I will never let fear rule my life. If I was afraid of death threats, I would probably have to choose a different industry. It's unfortunately a very common part of my job, but seeing it happen in front of my eyes in real time was a completely different thing," Hasan Piker told Mother Jones afterward.
New Jersey-born Hasan Piker grew up primarily in Turkey, from which his art historian mother and political scientist father had previously emigrated—a well-to-do family in the more privileged class. Piker himself eventually moved back to the US and eventually earned a dual degree with honors in political science and communications from the prestigious Rutgers University.
In that vein, he got an internship at his uncle Cenk Uygur's left-wing media company The Young Turks. Shortly thereafter, he got his own program spot which quickly became popular and in 2018 his Twitch career was born. It must be said that initially he had a mildly boyish content and that many therefore define him as part of the misogynistic manosphere.
It is easy to see that Piker's political message and tone are provocative on the right. But many also see an opportunity to exaggerate his importance and use him to blackmail opponents. Republican politicians let him embody the hateful "radical left".
In the most literal sense, it was like that at the Republican Party Convention in Dallas last month when the jumbotron showed a picture of a posing Piker wearing only his underpants and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to him critically in his UN speech a couple of weeks ago.
It is more complicated with the Democrats. There are many new and younger politicians and voters who want to see a move to the left, and many of them see him as a catalyst for such a movement.
According to a couple of national polls, about half of voters have never even heard the name Hasan Piker, but several Democrats have seen him as a way to attract votes, not least Bernie Sanders. He has even been invited to campaign for some, such as Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong, who admittedly lost the primary very narrowly, and Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
However, El-Sayed distanced himself from Piker in August after the latter said that a conflation of Judaism and Israel support could lead to more anti-Semitism. He thus joins the Democrats' second Piker pole, the one where people distance themselves from him in various strong terms.
The Democrats can thus be said to be divided in their attitude towards Hasan Piker. On the No side are high-profile figures such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, embattled Senator John Fetterman and influential veteran adviser James Carville who are threatening to leave the party:
- I do not intend to be in the same party as Hasan Piker. If he becomes an influential force within the Democrats, I will leave the party. I have no intention of ever being in the same political party as that guy.
