What's the scoop on Hasan Piker?

[detrius]

The background is very important. Vilifying Piker is part of efforts to discredit associate Abdul El-Sayed running for the US Senate in Michigan on a money outta politics & healthcare for all platform, very popular, and extremely dangerous to all moneyed interests.

They also used him to attack Zohran Mamdani.

 

[Ellie]

They also used him to attack Zohran Mamdani.

Part II

Those who want to continue robbing ordinary Americans with impunity, funding genocide *sparkling mass murder*, and allowing ICE to violently rampage across the country, both Republican and Democrats, are shit scared of the hope Mamdani, El-Sayed & others offer.

Therefore, money, airtime & all possible resources must marshaled to attack any daring to disagree and highlight the terrible mess America is in.

This firehose of disinformation has Faux News viewers panicking Muslim terrorists are taking over and implementing Shariah Law, as well as scaring Jewish Americans silly.

Even Innula expressed concern over Piker's words, so it’s not only the less literate who are influenced.

See how this works?

The antidote is to see the actual quotes, find someone you trust to provide context, and fight on to save your country.

These news outlets offer alternative perspectives. (and stopped me yelling FUCK YOU!!! so often while listening)

https://www.youtube.com/@DoubleDownNews

LIVE: TYT News & Politics

 

[Innula Zenovka]

I've been reading a bit more about Hasan Piker, and I'm beginning to wonder whether I'm making a category error by treating him primarily as a serious political commentator.

As I understand it, he's essentially a political entertainer: a hugely successful streamer whose livelihood depends on attracting and retaining an audience. And that seems important when considering some of the extraordinarily contentious things he says — praising Mao, for example, or saying that he would vote for Hamas over Israel "every single time".

The economics of social media surely matter here. If you're a professional influencer or streamer, you're operating in an attention economy. You need people to watch, share, comment and come back. It doesn't particularly matter whether they're saying "Quite right!" or "This is appalling!" so long as they're engaged. Controversy is therefore not an unfortunate by-product of the business model; it can be extremely useful to it.

Indeed, Piker himself said of his "Hamas is a thousand times better" remark that he genuinely meant it, but also that it was a rhetorical move because it frustrates people. That seems quite revealing to me.

None of this means that his political opinions are insincere. I suspect many of them are perfectly sincerely held. But there's an obvious incentive to express those opinions in their most provocative, shareable form: today's outrageous statement becomes tomorrow's viral clip, which is circulated by admirers and opponents alike.

So I'm increasingly inclined to see Piker less as an analyst offering considered political argument and more as a political entertainer working within the incentives of the attention economy. His politics may be genuine, but controversy is also part of the product.

That seems worth remembering before treating every inflammatory thing he says as though it were a carefully considered proposition in a political essay.

His politics may be genuine, but controversy is also part of the product. In that respect, a bit like Donald Trump, really.

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

I was having dinner with my parents last night. They had Fox News on the idiot box as they often do. Fox News was having fun showing a few out of context things Hasan Piker said. They loved to talk about his comment about Iran having Nuclear weapons could be a good thing. I can't be bothered to look into how real that comment actually was.

Fox news was playing this adjacent to fear mongering about trans people. Fox News will gladly talk about anything and everything except an honest representation of what most mainstream democrat platforms actually are.

 

[mixvio]

So I'm increasingly inclined to see Piker less as an analyst offering considered political argument and more as a political entertainer working within the incentives of the attention economy. His politics may be genuine, but controversy is also part of the product.

That seems worth remembering before treating every inflammatory thing he says as though it were a carefully considered proposition in a political essay.

I don't think he ever should have been regarded as a political analyst; he's a twitch streamer who picked up a community and an audience and at a certain scale people pay attention to your opinions on something whether you're qualified to give them or not. I think he started getting sought out for his political cachet because the Democrats have been trying to find their version of Joe Rogan and Hasan has a very, very large following of young dudes. I don't think he's stupid, and I don't think he's trolling either, per se; I think he does know how to play conservatives at their game to a certain extent and I think he knows how to hijack the systems that created someone like Trump for his own benefit. I've long said that Democrats, progressives, and "the left" should stop treating these things as good faith considerations — no matter how hard a leftist contorts themselves, Fox News will run a headline that their spine wasn't bent far enough. I don't always think he threads that needle as well as I'd like, and while I agree with him much of the time he will say something I can only roll my eyes at and categorise as dumb shit that isn't going to be much help.

Politics aside though, I'd let him crush my throat and call me names. :3

 

[Ellie]

Piker himself said of his "Hamas is a thousand times better"

Better than what? At being terrorists? The IDF has them beat hands down, just look at anyone's estimated kill rates & proportion of women & children in those figures.

The time when screaming "KAHMMAS!!!" as an islmaphobic dogwhistle while frothing at the mouth, on TV & other platforms, to scare the populace is fast fading, only the oldbies are still listening to this crap.

Piker's a bit of rabble rouser at times, but fades in scale when compared to those on the others side.

Charlie Kirk made a comment about some gun deaths in the U.S. being "worth it" to ensure the continued existence of the second amendment to the U.S. constitution, which is the right to keep and bear arms.

He stated, "It is a growing consensus in the pro-life world that abortion is never medically necessary," when asked if someone raped his hypothetical 10-year-old daughter, would he want the child to be born.

There are so many more, but they receive very little attention compared to Piker.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

There are so many more, but they receive very little attention compared to Piker.

And, to my mind, neither they nor Piker seem particularly worth listening to.

 

[Ellie]

And, to my mind, neither they nor Piker seem particularly worth listening to.

Know thine enemy?

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Know thine enemy?

Have you gained any useful knowledge from listening to any of these folks, whether on the right or the left, that you didn't already possess? I didn't have to listen to Alex Jones' broadcasts to know all that I need to about him.

To my mind, they're primarily entertainers, the 2020s equivalent of talk radio shock jocks thirty or forty years ago. The draw is that you know they're going to say something outrageous, whether you agree with it or not, and you want to hear what it is.

 

[Beebo Brink]

So basically Piker is just one of those modern era "celebrities" whose fame largely rests on being famous. Sort of a political Kardashian.

I'll stay with JVL from the Bulwark.

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

Have you gained any useful knowledge from listening to any of these folks, whether on the right or the left, that you didn't already possess? I didn't have to listen to Alex Jones' broadcasts to know all that I need to about him.

To my mind, they're primarily entertainers, the 2020s equivalent of talk radio shock jocks thirty or forty years ago. The draw is that you know they're going to say something outrageous, whether you agree with it or not, and you want to hear what it is.

I half agree. I think it would be a total waste of time to watch hours of this kind of thing. But I do think it's very important to know the jist of what people are talking about.

I of course would never bother turning on Fox News just on my own. But I see it against my will when going places, especially visiting relatives. I insist I gain a lot of valuable insight watching it here and there. ....just not in the way conservatives would want. I see a lot of "oh.... they really do think that way!"

So basically Piker is just one of those modern era "celebrities" whose fame largely rests on being famous. Sort of a political Kardashian.

I'll still with JVL from the Bulwark.

You're not totally wrong. He's a handsome guy who spends a lot of time talking. I agree with him on most things, but would certainly not recommend him to others who wanted to understand my views. I certainly do have some discomfort with a lot of what he says.

 

[Dancien]

Pretty much. He got "sorta popular" by being a hardcore Bernie Bro and arguing with the other bottom feeder political streamers like Destiny and Ethan Klein. Also, non-politically he put a shock collar on his dog so he can fuck off.

 

[Ellie]

Bibi just came to the US and attacked NYC Mayor Mamdani & Piker as a part of a major propaganda op.

These two men didn't drag the US into a war with Iran, but sure, stomp around, curse and scream about radical islamic terrorists, etc, etc and not this yahoo committing genocide *sparkling mass murder* daily.

Even after generously allowing Netanyahu to “edit” himself, the Times did not conceal that Netanyahu was not thinking in terms of sympathy for the victims of 9/11 and the United States, nor what a “friend” could do to help America. Rather, he was already thinking on the day it happened about how 9/11 could be manipulated to get America to do more for Israel.

https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/its-very-good-recalling-benjamin-netanyahus-words-day-911-attacks