Who is Hasan Piker? The left-wing influencer who was live-streaming when news of Charlie Kirk’s death broke and was scheduled to debate him in two weeks

Left-wing Twitch streamer and political commentator Hasan Piker was supposed to debate Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk on September 25, as per a video posted by Mother Jones. In an interview with POLITICO, Hasan confirmed that he was set to debate him at the Dartmouth Political Union about young people and politics, left vs. right, in just two weeks.

One hour into an eight-hour stream on Wednesday, September 10, the day Charles Kirk was assassinated, Piker’s chat started posting that Kirk got shot. “Oh my God, he definitely got shot in the neck,” Piker said, his hand covering his mouth as he watched the footage (which was not on the livestream), the caption of the YouTube video claimed.

The video also claimed that Piker was immediately clear that what happened to Kirk was reprehensible, telling his viewers not to joke about the killing and that what followed likely would be, too.


Hasan Piker told POLITICO Magazine he was horrified by Kirk’s shooting, not just because he knew Kirk and was due to debate him, but because it confirmed a long-standing fear about violence at political events:“That is the one fear that’s always in the back of your mind when you engage in any sort of political advocacy when you do these events.”

He said the footage and the real-time reaction were devastating given the death threats he already receives, and that while he’ll likely pause public appearances for now, he won’t let fear stop him: “As a recipient of millions of death threats at this point over the years, watching that unfold in real time was devastating.”

Who is Hasan Pikera?

Hasan Doğan Piker (born July 25, 1991), better known as HasanAbi, is a US-based Twitch streamer, influencer, and prominent left-wing political commentator. He is known for his long-form livestreams mixing politics, social commentary, gaming, and media analysis, making him one of the most-watched figures on Twitch.

Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, to Turkish parents and raised in Istanbul, Piker grew up in a Muslim household. His father, Mehmet Behçet Piker, is a political scientist and economist who has held senior roles at Sabancı Holding and co-founded Turkey’s Future Party, while his mother, Ülker Sedef Piker, is an art and architectural historian teaching at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. His uncle is Cenk Uygur, co-founder of The Young Turks.

Piker studied in the US, first at the University of Miami before graduating cum laude from Rutgers University in 2013 with degrees in political science and communication studies. He later moved to Los Angeles, where he established his streaming career. By 2021, he had purchased a $2.7 million home in West Hollywood, as per the Independent.