# Hasan Piker

> Hasan Piker, known online as HasanAbi, is an American Twitch streamer and left-wing political commentator who built one of the largest political audiences on livestreaming. A former Young Turks producer turned full-time broadcaster, he hosts marathon news-and-gaming streams from West Hollywood and has become a flashpoint inside Democratic Party debates about how the left talks to young men online.

- **Role:** Independent streamer at twitch.tv/hasanabi and youtube.com/@hasanabi
- **Organizations:** HasanAbi (independent), Fear& podcast
- **From:** New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
- **Nationality:** American (Turkish heritage)
- **Education:** Undergraduate (transferred), University of Miami, BA, Political Science and Communication Studies (cum laude), Rutgers University
- **Known for:** Kotaku Gamer of the Year (2020), Streamy Award, News category (2020, 2022, 2023), Streamer Award, Best Just Chatting Streamer (2022)

## Career timeline

- **2013** — Graduates Rutgers cum laude; interns at The Young Turks.
- **2016** — Creates and hosts The Breakdown on Facebook for TYT.
- **2018** — Begins streaming on Twitch in March while still at TYT.
- **2020** — Leaves TYT to stream full-time; named a Kotaku Gamer of the Year; pulls 230,000 concurrent viewers on election night.
- **2021** — Buys a West Hollywood home; starts co-hosting Leftovers with Ethan Klein.
- **2022** — Wins Streamy News award and Best Just Chatting at the Streamer Awards.
- **2023** — Raises over $1.2M for Turkey-Syria earthquake relief and over $1M for Gaza humanitarian aid.
- **2024** — Covers the Democratic National Convention with credentialed press access.
- **2025** — Detained at O'Hare by U.S. Customs and Border Protection; visits China; becomes a recurring fight inside Democratic strategy debates.
- **2026** — Tells CNN he plans to stream less; appears alongside U.S. Senate candidates on the campaign trail.

## Achievements

- Kotaku Gamer of the Year (2020)
- Streamy Award, News category (2020, 2022, 2023)
- Streamer Award, Best Just Chatting Streamer (2022)
- Highest debate-coverage viewership in Twitch history (125,000+ concurrent, 2020)
- Raised more than $1.2M for Turkey-Syria earthquake relief (2023)
- Raised more than $1M for Gaza humanitarian aid (2023)
- Raised over $200,000 for Ukrainian relief (2022)
- Credentialed coverage of the 2024 Democratic National Convention

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Jacobin runs a long defense of Piker as Democratic operatives try to distance themselves from him.
- **2025-12** — Tells CNN he wants to stream less in 2026.
- **2025-05** — Detained at O'Hare International Airport by U.S. Customs and Border Protection; says questioning targeted his political views.

## Links

- Twitter/X: https://x.com/hasanthehun
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hasanabi
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hasandpiker/
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hasandpiker

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/hasan-piker
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-20