Hasan Piker is many things. He’s a hardcore himbo, an amateur gamer, and frequent heated moment haver. He speaks to legions of young men, women, and enbys on the internet almost every day via his wildly popular Twitch channel, and feeds their parasocial bond via his other social media accounts. Even though he spends most of his time on Twitch reacting to political clips, yelling at his chat, and eating, he’s currently the number 10 most-watched streamer on the platform. That’s because Hasan is the perfect mix of intelligence, sexiness, and bro-ness, through which he effortlessly courts legions of lovers and haters.
When Hasan buys a Porsche, the internet riots. When he crushes a watermelon with his thighs, they swoon. When he jokes about the Queen of England dying, they go catatonic. To the millions who know him or know of him he’s a champagne socialist, a hypocrite, an important political commentator, and the guy who fucks your mom. He is a prime example of the power of social media, the intricacies of parasocial relationships, and the importance of media literacy.
Like him or not, Hasan Piker is the reason many young folks know about politics today, and as an out-and-proud Hasanabi head—I watch his streams every day…notice me, Hasan—it only seems fitting that we look back at the year in Hasan Piker.