Hasan Piker

Hasan Doğan Piker (born July 25, 1991), also known as HasanAbi, is an American Twitch streamer and political commentator. He has previously worked as a broadcast journalist and producer at The Young Turks and as a columnist at HuffPost. He is currently one of the most-viewed streamers on Twitch, where he covers news and discusses politics from a left-wing perspective, and plays a variety of video games.[1][2]

Hasan Piker
Personal information
BornHasan Doğan Piker
(1991-07-25) July 25, 1991
New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States
NationalityAmerican
EducationRutgers University (BA)
Occupation
Home townIstanbul, Turkey
RelativesCenk Uygur (uncle)
Twitch information
Channel
Years active2018–present
Genre
Followers1,040,000
Total views47.5 million
Associated acts
YouTube information
Channels
Years active2018–present
Genre
  • Political commentary
  • Video gaming
  • Reaction
Subscribers449,000 (combined)
Total views47.2 million (combined)
100,000 subscribers 2020
Follower and view counts updated as of January 25, 2021.

Early life

Hasan Doğan Piker was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and raised in Istanbul, Turkey.[3] He has described himself as an "outcast" in his youth who questioned the religious dogma he was taught in school and was interested in games and gaming culture; he would regularly read one of the few video game magazines published in Turkey.[4][5]

Piker moved to the United States and attended the University of Miami, during which he worked as a club promoter. After two semesters, he transferred to Rutgers University, where he graduated cum laude with a dual degree in political science and communication studies in 2013.[3][5][6]

Career

The Young Turks

During his senior year of college in 2013, Piker interned for The Young Turks (TYT), a progressive news show and network co-founded by his uncle, Cenk Uygur. After graduating, Piker was hired by the network's ad sales and business department. He would ask to host the show when a fill-in was needed, and later became a host and producer.[5]

In 2016, Piker created and hosted The Breakdown, a TYT Network video series which aired on Facebook and presented left-leaning political analysis targeted toward millennial supporters of Bernie Sanders.[3][5] The show was nominated in the "Best Web Series" category at the 10th Shorty Awards in 2018.[7] Piker also wrote political content for HuffPost from 2016 to 2018.[8][9]

Piker created and hosted another TYT series in 2019 called Agitprop with Hasan Piker.[10] In January 2020, he announced his departure from TYT and his intention to focus on his career as a Twitch streamer.[4]

Twitch

Piker started streaming on Twitch in March 2018, while he was working at TYT.[11] Piker has said he shifted his attention from Facebook to Twitch in order to reach a younger audience, and because of what he felt was a preponderance of right-wing commentators on YouTube and a lack of leftist representation.[1][12][13] He became a popular left-wing political commentator, invited to appear on Fox News's The Issue Is and the political podcast, Chapo Trap House.[1][14][15][16] Piker also streams gameplay and commentary of video games on his Twitch channel.[4][17][18] His YouTube channels feature highlights of his political and gaming streams.[19]

During his stream on August 21, 2019, Piker criticized U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw for his support of American military interventionism overseas. Piker asked, "What the fuck is wrong with this dude? Didn’t he go to war and like literally lose his eye because some mujahideen, a brave fucking soldier fucked his eye hole with their dick?"[20][21][22] In the same stream, Piker criticized American foreign policy and made controversial comments relating to the September 11 attacks, including "America deserved 9/11, dude".[22][23] His statements caused outrage on social media and were covered by Fox News. Cenk Uygur called them "very offensive," and invited Piker to appear opposite him on TYT to apologize. Piker has defended his criticism of American foreign policy while acknowledging that he should have used "more precise" language.[23][24][25] Twitch banned him for one week for the comments.[26]

During the first 2020 United States presidential debate on September 29, Piker had over 125,000 viewers watching his reaction stream, the highest viewership of the debate on Twitch.[27] On October 19, 2020, U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez collaborated with Piker and fellow Twitch streamer Pokimane to organize a stream of the Representative playing popular multiplayer game Among Us for the "Get out the vote" initiative.[4][28] The stream was aired the following day, featuring both Ocasio-Cortez and U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar playing the game with Piker and many other popular Twitch streamers, reaching a total concurrent viewership of almost 700,000.[29][30][31]

On the night of November 3, Piker's stream covering the results of the 2020 United States presidential election peaked at 230,000 concurrent viewers and was the sixth most-watched source of election coverage across YouTube and Twitch, comprising 4.9% of the market share.[32][33][34][35] He was the most watched Twitch streamer during the election week; his 80 hours of streams were viewed for 6.8 million hours by an average of 75,000 concurrent viewers.[11][36][37] Piker's stream reached a new high of 231,000 viewers during the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol.[38]

Political views

Piker has been identified as a progressive, leftist and socialist.[1][11][19] He has advocated in favor of workplace democracy,[39] Medicare for All,[15] the Green New Deal,[40] intersectional feminism,[19] gay and transgender rights, and gun control; he has advocated against war and Islamophobia.[3]

Piker has cited his upbringing in Turkey under the Premiership of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as an influence on both his left-wing views and willingness to speak out about them.[5][19] Piker supported the presidential primary campaigns of Bernie Sanders in 2016 and 2020, and has been an outspoken critic of both the Democratic and Republican parties.

Personal life

Piker was raised Muslim and is of Turkish descent.[5] He is the nephew of Cenk Uygur, creator of The Young Turks.[41] Piker appeared in a 2016 short film called The Gym.[42]

Reception

Outlets dedicated to video game culture and youth culture have covered Piker's streams positively. In particular, journalists have noted his ability to "combine information and entertainment,"[5] and to approach left-wing political coverage in a way that is relatable and accessible to Twitch viewers, who may feel out of touch with cable news.[6][32][37][43] Some authors also cite Piker's vulgar, animated style of expression and his physical appearance as notable factors behind his popularity.[5][6]

Gaming website Kotaku selected Piker as one of their "Gamers of the Year" for 2020, citing him as a major figure in the mainstreaming of political commentary on Twitch, a platform which in the past was seen as discouraging to it.[37][43][44]

Awards and nominations
Year Nominated work CategoryAward ResultNotesRef.
2018 The Breakdown Web Series 10th Shorty Awards Nominated Co-hosted with Francis Maxwell [7]
2020 HasanAbi Like & Subscribe theScore esports Awards 2020 Won [45]
2020 HasanAbi News 10th Streamy Awards Won [46]

References
  1. Jackson, Gita (May 20, 2019). "Socialist Twitch Streamer Says He's Changing Minds". Kotaku. G/O Media. Archived from the original on May 20, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  2. "Most Watched Twitch Streamers, Dec 2020".
  3. "HASAN PIKER". Politicon. Archived from the original on June 28, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  4. Park, Gene (October 21, 2020). "AOC playing 'Among Us' shouldn't surprise you. Streams are a beloved pastime". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  5. Smothers, Hannah (February 20, 2018). ""Woke Bae" Hasan Piker Wants Your F*cking Attention". Cosmopolitan. Hearst Communications. ISSN 0010-9541. Archived from the original on February 20, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  6. Lambkin, Kelly (November 4, 2017). "Why We Should Be Paying Attention To Hasan Piker, A.K.A. 'Woke Bae'". Study Breaks. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  7. "THE BREAKDOWN". Shorty Awards. Archived from the original on January 20, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  8. "Hasan Piker". HuffPost. Verizon Media. Archived from the original on October 18, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  9. Bajalan, Djene (July 31, 2016). "The Wrong Answer". Jacobin. ISSN 2158-2602. Archived from the original on September 21, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  10. "Agitprop with Hasan Piker". The Young Turks. Archived from the original on December 3, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  11. Lorenz, Taylor (November 10, 2020). "How Hasan Piker Took Over Twitch". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  12. Breland, Ali (October 21, 2020). "On Twitch, AOC and Ilhan Omar Tapped Into the Future of Left Politics". Mother Jones. Foundation for National Progress. ISSN 0362-8841. Archived from the original on October 22, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  13. Liberati, Riccardo (May 21, 2019). "Hasanabi ed il vento del cambiamento sociale su Twitch". Player.it (in Italian). Frezza Network. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  14. Uhl, Jordan (July 15, 2020). "The US Military Is Using Online Gaming to Recruit Teens". The Nation. ISSN 0027-8378. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  15. Michaelson, Elex (January 25, 2020). "The Issue Is: Hasan Piker v John Kobylt". FOX 5. Fox Television Stations. Archived from the original on January 26, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  16. Michaelson, Elex (July 29, 2020). "The Issue Is Podcast: A debate on government's role during the pandemic with Hasan Piker, Michael Knowles". FOX 11. Fox Television Stations. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  17. Miceli, Max (January 13, 2020). "HasanAbi accidentally takes out teammate Greekgodx in Escape from Tarkov". Dot Esports. Gamurs. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  18. Lee, Jonathan (September 2, 2020). "Hasan was saved by a stream sniping troll during Twitch's Fall Guys tournament". Yahoo!. Verizon Media. Archived from the original on December 3, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  19. Macklovitch, Dave (April 1, 2020). "Hasan Piker Can Bro Down And Demolish Capitalism At The Same Time". MEL. Dollar Shave Club. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  20. Dorman, Sam (August 22, 2019). "Liberal commentator profanely attacks Rep. Crenshaw, says 'brave' fighter took his eye". Fox News. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  21. "TYT Contributor Goes off about Dan Crenshaw in Furious Tirade". Mediaite. August 22, 2019. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  22. "Twitch Suspends Popular Leftist Streamer After Controversial 9/11 Comments". Kotaku. Archived from the original on August 24, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  23. Wulfsohn, Joseph (August 23, 2019). "Hasan Piker calls his Crenshaw remarks 'satire'". Fox News. Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  24. The Young Turks (August 22, 2019). "Hasan Piker Addresses Online Comments". Archived from the original on November 19, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020 – via YouTube.
  25. Michaelson, Elex (August 30, 2019). "Hasan Piker vs Gianno Caldwell on "The Issue Is: with Elex Michaelson"". Archived from the original on November 3, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020 – via YouTube.
  26. Grayson, Nathan (August 23, 2019). "Twitch Suspends Popular Leftist Streamer After Controversial 9/11 Comments". Kotaku. G/O Media. Archived from the original on August 24, 2019. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  27. Hsu, Tiffany (September 30, 2020). "They Watched the Debate … on Twitch". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  28. Bailey, Dustin (October 20, 2020). "AOC starts a Twitch account to play Among Us with Pokimane and HasanAbi". PCGamesN. Network N. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  29. Stephen, Bijan (October 20, 2020). "Watch AOC play Among Us live on Twitch with HasanAbi and Pokimane". The Verge. Vox Media. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  30. Brown, Abram (October 20, 2020). "Almost 700,000 People Flock To Twitch To Watch Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Play Hit Video Game 'Among Us'". Forbes. ISSN 0015-6914. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  31. Grayson, Nathan (October 20, 2020). "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Streams On Twitch With Hasan Piker And Pokimane, Draws Over 430,000 Viewers". Kotaku. G/O Media. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  32. Jackson, Gita (November 4, 2020). "Hasan Piker's Twitch Stream Is the Future of Election Night Coverage". Vice News. Archived from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  33. Lerman, Rachel (November 2, 2020). "How people are obsessing over results (virtually) on election night". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on November 5, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  34. Michael, Cale (November 13, 2020). "Streamlabs report shows HasanAbi rivaled major news outlets for presidential election coverage". Dot Esports. Gamurs. Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  35. May, Ethan (November 13, 2020). "Streamlabs and Stream Hatchet Live Stream Election Report". Streamlabs. Logitech. Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  36. Lister, Bishop (November 7, 2020). "Hasan Piker is Now One of Twitch's Top Streamers". Game Rant. Valnet. Archived from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  37. "Twitch Is Having a Political Renaissance". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on January 6, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  38. Messner, Steven (January 6, 2021). "The storming of the US Capitol is currently Twitch's top stream". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  39. The Young Turks (August 6, 2019). "Hasan Piker Challenges Cenk Uygur on Democracy In The Workplace". Archived from the original on December 21, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020 – via YouTube.
  40. "Wesley Hunt's Issues with The Green New Deal | HasanAbi reacts to Joe Rogan - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  41. Levine, Jon (June 14, 2018). "Young Turks Network Sheds Senior Employees in Staff Shakeup". TheWrap. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  42. Periwal, Saahil Agnelo (August 30, 2020). "Fans spot Twitch streamer 'HasanAbi' in a movie called 'The Gym', freak out after realizing what his role was". Sportskeeda. Absolute Sports. Archived from the original on December 3, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  43. Totilo, Stephen (December 30, 2020). "The Gamers Of The Year, 2020". Kotaku. Archived from the original on January 1, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  44. Hernandez, Patricia (August 30, 2019). "On Twitch, talking about politics can be taboo". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  45. theScore esports (December 20, 2020). "The 2020 King of Twitch: theScore esports Like & Subscribe Award". www.youtube.com. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  46. Del Rosario, Alexandra (December 12, 2020). "The 2020 YouTube Streamy Awards Winners List: Charli D'Amelio, Will Smith & Sarah Cooper Among Honorees". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on December 13, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
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