Hasan Piker’s Politics of Appeal

Over the last eight years, streamer and leftist political commentator Hasan Piker has built a following of millions on Twitch, where he streams seven to ten hours a day, discussing current events and interacting with followers in a rapid-fire chat. Lately, Piker, who has hit the campaign trail for Democratic candidates like Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, has become the object of a raging debate about the direction of the Democratic Party. For many progressives, establishment attacks on Piker and the candidates he supports are evidence that the party is out of touch with its base, especially young people. For the establishment, embrace of Piker by Israel-critical candidates is evidence that the party is becoming too radical. A recent op-ed in The Wall Street Journal by leaders of the centrist think tank Third Way labeled Piker a “Jew hater,” and urged Democrats to denounce him.The irony is that Piker, who appeals to exactly the sorts of young men who are being lured to the right in large numbers by the “manosphere,” is unique in how often he speaks about the principled fight against antisemitism. As figures like Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, and Nick Fuentes become more prominent in the pro-Palestine digital ecosystem, Piker may be one of the most important figures on the left countering a simplistic narrative of Jewish control and American innocence. On this episode of On the Nose, Arielle Angel speaks with Piker about keeping the nuance in a media environment that wants easy answers, using electoral politics to build class consciousness, and why he keeps talking about antisemitism.Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Media Mentioned and Further ReadingHasan Piker on Twitch“Hasan Piker Has a Few Choice Words for His Bad-Faith Critics,” Aaron Regunberg, The New Republic“The Right Is Capturing the Online Palestine Conversation,” On the Nose“Charlie Kirk and American Innocence,” On the Nose“Where Cenk Uygur and I Disagree,” Beinart Notebook on Substack“The Many Equivocations of Curt Mills,” Will Alden, Jewish Currents“Ocasio-Cortez warns against associating with Greene, calling her a ‘proven bigot,’” Ryan Mancini, The Hill“AOC vs. MTG on Palestine: the voting records don't lie,” Mehdi Hassan on Zeteo“This Is Why There’s No Liberal Joe Rogan,” Ezra Klein, The New York Times“Democrats Are Too Cozy With Hasan Piker,” Jonathan Cowan and Lily Cohen, The Wall Street Journal“Some Democrats Shun Him, but Young Voters Want a Selfie,” Nathan Taylor Pemberton, The New York Times“House Democratic leaders condemn Texas candidate for antisemitic comments,” Ben Kamisar, NBC NewsTranscript forthcoming.