Socialist Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, 35, has become a central focus of Republican attacks ahead of the US midterm elections, despite most voters not knowing who he is or having heard of Twitch, his streaming platform of choice. Political opponents have spent months trying to elevate his profile and tie Democratic candidates to his most incendiary comments, yet many voters told the Guardian they hadn't heard of him or that his opinions didn't factor into their voting decisions.
Republican attacks and media scrutiny
Piker features in Republican campaign ads, and a photo of him nearly nude appeared on the jumbotron at the party's midterm convention. Republicans have tried to tie Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for US Senate in Michigan, to Piker after El-Sayed campaigned with him in the primary, though the candidate has since distanced himself. Piker says he is not overly troubled by such attacks. "Republicans believe this is an incredible narrative, for the record," he says. "They truly believe that this is successful. I'm willing to bet it's because they're fucking brain-poisoned by the internet."
The spotlight is glaringly bright, with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu singling out one of Piker's most controversial remarks from the stage of the UN general assembly. Moderate Democrats have also used Piker as a proxy in their battle against the party's ascendant left. Piker streams for seven hours nonstop each day, with hundreds of thousands of followers tuning in each hour. "For the election season, I have tried to be as serious as possible," he says in his signature suit and tie.
Background and controversial comments
Born in New Jersey and raised mostly in Turkey, Piker is the nephew of The Young Turks co-founder Cenk Uygur. He started streaming on Twitch in 2018 after hosting a show on the network. He now has more than 3 million followers on Twitch, nearly 2 million on YouTube and nearly 2 million on X. In 2019, he said "America deserved 9/11," a comment he has since called "inappropriate," which now features in an ad by Mike Rogers, the Republican contender for US Senate in Michigan, to attack El-Sayed.
In an Axios interview, Piker said the US had committed more atrocities than al-Qaida. "Pound for pound, as far as the number of deaths, yes," he responded. "We have caused tremendous terror all around the world." Earlier this year, the UK would not allow Piker or Uygur to enter the country for speaking events, with the Home Office saying their visit "may not be conducive to the public good". Trump called Piker a "terrible liability" who has "a power over some of these Democrats", and Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin said some of Piker's comments are "absolutely disgusting and deplorable" and that he "does not represent the Democratic party" or its candidates.
Voters don't care
For many voters, Piker is mostly a distraction. "I kind of liken it to following Kim Kardashian," Phil Verges, a farmer in Spring Valley, Wisconsin, said. "Now, I don't – excuse my language – I don't give a shit." A New York Times/Siena poll from mid-September found 62% of likely voters across three US Senate battleground states did not know who Piker was. Even in Michigan, 54% of voters didn't know him. At the Republican convention, most of the 15 attenders interviewed by the Guardian had never heard of him.
Piker has sway over a set of dedicated leftwing, often younger, people who can help increase a candidate's profile in a Democratic primary. Chris Rabb, the Democratic congressional candidate in Pennsylvania's third district, credits Piker with bringing awareness to his campaign among a demographic that would have otherwise been hard and expensive to reach. "What he could do in one stream could have taken me months to cultivate," he said.
Piker says he isn't the Joe Rogan of the left, and that Democrats were looking for someone with a platform like Rogan's that would be a "lackey for the party". "I'm not that person," he says. Despite the attacks, Piker remains defiant: "No," he replies when asked if he has considered talking less. "I mean, I talk less, I say the same stuff. Still going to be a problem."
