History of Hasan Piker in Timeline

Hasan Doğan Piker, or HasanAbi, is a prominent American Twitch streamer and left-wing political commentator. He is known for his political and social commentary, often delivered through media consumption. Piker's Twitch channel is highly popular, ranking among the most-subscribed on the platform. He has become a significant voice on the U.S. left, offering his perspectives to a large online audience. He began his streaming career in 2018 while working for The Young Turks (TYT).

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Full Timeline Career & Achievements

July 25, 1991: Hasan Piker's Birth

On July 25, 1991, Hasan Doğan Piker, also known as HasanAbi, was born. He is now known as an American Twitch streamer, influencer, and left-wing political commentator.

Others born on this day/year

2013: Piker Graduates from Rutgers University

In 2013, Hasan Piker graduated cum laude from Rutgers University with a double major in political science and communication studies.

2013: Piker Interns and is Hired by The Young Turks

In 2013, during his senior year of college, Hasan Piker interned for The Young Turks. After graduation, he was hired by the network's ad sales and business department and later became a host and producer.

2016: Piker Creates and Hosts The Breakdown

In 2016, Hasan Piker created and hosted The Breakdown, a TYT Network video series on Facebook that presented left-leaning political analyses.

2016: Piker Supports Bernie Sanders' Presidential Campaign

In 2016, Hasan Piker supported the presidential primary campaign of Bernie Sanders.

2017: Piker Opposes Donald Trump's Travel Ban

In 2017, Hasan Piker opposed Donald Trump's travel ban.

March 2018: Piker Starts Streaming on Twitch

In March 2018, Hasan Piker started streaming on Twitch while working at The Young Turks (TYT).

March 23, 2018: Piker Starts Streaming on Twitch While at TYT

On March 23, 2018, Hasan Piker started streaming on Twitch while still working at The Young Turks (TYT).

2018: Piker Contributes to HuffPost

From 2016 to 2018, Hasan Piker contributed political content to HuffPost.

August 2019: Piker Makes Controversial Comments About 9/11

In August 2019, during a Twitch stream, Hasan Piker made controversial comments about the September 11 attacks, including "America deserved 9/11", leading to a short-term ban. He later described the comments as satirical and acknowledged the need for more precise language.

2019: Piker's 9/11 Comments Used Against Mamdani

During the 2025 mayoral campaign, Hasan Piker's 2019 comment that "America deserved 9/11" was used against Zohran Mamdani, who disavowed the remarks during a debate.

January 2020: Piker Leaves TYT to Focus on Twitch

In January 2020, Hasan Piker left TYT to focus on his career as a Twitch streamer, aiming to reach a younger audience and provide leftist representation.

January 2020: Piker Leaves TYT

In January 2020, Hasan Piker left The Young Turks (TYT) to focus on his career as a Twitch streamer.

October 19, 2020: AOC Collaborates with Piker for 'Get Out The Vote' Initiative

On October 19, 2020, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez collaborated with Hasan Piker and Pokimane to organize a Twitch stream of Among Us for the "Get out the vote" initiative. The stream aired the following day and reached nearly 700,000 concurrent viewers.

2020: Piker's Commentary on the 2020 Presidential Debate

During the first 2020 United States presidential debate on September 29, Hasan Piker had over 125,000 viewers watching his commentary of the stream. 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. He was the most watched Twitch streamer during the election week; his 80 hours of streams were viewed for a cumulative 6.8 million hours by an average of 75,000 concurrent viewers. Piker's stream reached a new high of 231,000 viewers during the January 6 United States Capitol attack.

2020: Piker Supports Bernie Sanders' Second Presidential Campaign

In 2020, Hasan Piker supported the presidential primary campaign of Bernie Sanders.

2020: Kotaku's "Gamers of the Year" & Streamy Award

In 2020, the gaming website Kotaku selected Hasan Piker as one of their "Gamers of the Year", citing him as a major figure in the mainstreaming of political commentary on Twitch. Also, Piker won a Streamy in the News category at the 10th annual awards in 2020.

September 26, 2021: Piker Co-Hosts Leftovers Podcast with Ethan Klein

On September 26, 2021, Hasan Piker began co-hosting the left-leaning political podcast Leftovers with Ethan Klein.

2021: Piker Purchases a House in West Hollywood

In 2021, Hasan Piker purchased a $2.7 million house in West Hollywood, California, where he films most of his streams.

2021: Piker Banned from Twitch for Using a Slur

In 2021, Hasan Piker was banned from Twitch for one week after using the slur "cracker" in reference to white people. The ban sparked debate and criticism, with some arguing the term should not be considered a slur in the same way as other terms.

2021: Streamy Award Nomination

In 2021, Hasan Piker was nominated again in the News category for the Streamy awards.

2021: Piker Starts the Fear& Podcast

Since 2021, Hasan Piker has co-hosted the podcast Fear& (formerly Fear&Malding) alongside Will Neff.

February 2022: Piker Asserts Russia Would Not Invade Ukraine

Throughout February 2022, leading up to the invasion of Ukraine, Hasan Piker insisted to his audience that Russia would not attack.

February 23, 2022: Piker Insisted Russia would not Attack Ukraine

On February 23, 2022, the day before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Hasan Piker insisted to his audience that Russia would not attack. Piker subsequently apologized and admitted that he was wrong.

2022: Streamy Award Win

In 2022, Hasan Piker was nominated in the categories News, Just Chatting, and Streamer of the Year, winning the News award for the second time.

2022: Piker's YouTube Channel Reaches 1,000,000 Subscribers

In 2022, Hasan Piker's YouTube channel, which features highlights of his streams, reached over 1,000,000 subscribers.

2022: QTCinderella and AustinShow Join the Fear& Podcast

In 2022, QTCinderella and AustinShow joined Hasan Piker's podcast Fear& as co-hosts.

February 6, 2023: Piker Organizes Fundraiser for Turkey-Syria Earthquake Relief

Following the February 6, 2023, Turkey–Syria earthquake, Hasan Piker organized a fundraiser, contributed to and promoted by other streamers, raising over $1,200,000 for charities and NGOs.

October 12, 2023: Piker's Last Episode of the Leftovers Podcast

On October 12, 2023, Hasan Piker co-hosted his last episode of the Leftovers podcast with Ethan Klein.

October 21, 2023: Piker's Charity Drive Raises Over $1,000,000 for Gaza Relief

As of October 21, 2023, Hasan Piker's charity drive on his channel raised over $1,000,000 for organizations supporting Palestine during the Gaza war.

November 2023: Galaxy Leader Held Captive by Houthi militants

Since November 2023, the Galaxy Leader, a Bahamas-flagged ship, had been held captive by Houthi militants.

January 2024: Piker Interviews Yemeni Pirate

In January 2024, Hasan Piker interviewed a Yemeni self-proclaimed "pirate" who had filmed himself on board the Galaxy Leader, a ship held captive by Houthi militants.

April 2024: Piker rejects journalistic objectivity

In April 2024, a contributor to the Digital Journalism journal noted that Hasan Piker is familiar with journalistic mechanics but rejects these as methods used for "manufacturing consent for elites."

July 2024: Piker cited as example of "online chattering class"

In July 2024, Alex Mahadevan of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies cited Hasan Piker as an example of the "online chattering class" who do not hold themselves to journalistic ethics.

September 2024: Piker characterized as emblematic of "newsfluencer" class

In September 2024, an article in the academic journal Digital Journalism characterized Hasan Piker as emblematic of an emerging "newsfluencer" class with a tendency towards "problematic behavior" that conflicted with journalistic objectivity.

November 2024: Ritchie Torres Criticizes Twitch for Alleged Antisemitism, Calls for Investigation into Piker

In November 2024, Congressman Ritchie Torres criticized Twitch for alleged "amplification of antisemitism" and called for an investigation into Hasan Piker. Advertisers were pressured to leave Twitch, and some pulled advertisements due to the controversy.

2024: Piker's 2024 Election Night Coverage

In 2024, Hasan Piker's election night coverage stream had 7.5 million total viewers.

February 28, 2025: Piker Makes Comments About Rick Scott

On February 28, 2025, Hasan Piker stated that if Republicans "cared about Medicare fraud or Medicaid fraud, [they] would kill Rick Scott,".

May 2025: Piker Detained by U.S. Customs

In May 2025, Hasan Piker was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago after returning from a trip to France. He believes the detainment was due to his political views.

November 2025: Piker Visits China and Appears on State Television

In November 2025, Hasan Piker visited China and appeared on the state-run China Global Television Network, expressing his desire to see what the United States could learn from the country. He was briefly questioned by police at Tiananmen Square.

December 2025: Piker Comments on China's Material Improvements in The Guardian Interview

In a December 2025 interview with The Guardian, Hasan Piker said that China had "greatly improved the material conditions of the average Chinese person", despite "its flaws and repressive attitudes towards certain groups."

2025: Piker Supports Zohran Mamdani in NYC Mayoral Race

In 2025, Hasan Piker supported Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral race, and Mamdani appeared on Piker's stream.

2025: Piker Emerges as Prominent Left-Wing Commentator

Since 2025, Hasan Piker has emerged as a prominent commentator among young American leftists, known for his critiques of the Trump administration and his relatable approach to political coverage on Twitch.