Community leaders condemn ABC decision to platform Hasan Piker

Jewish community leaders have condemned the ABC’s decision to interview American streamer Hasan Piker, whose record of antisemitic rhetoric and support for terrorist organisations has been documented at length by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

Piker is scheduled to appear on the public broadcaster’s US politics program Planet America on Monday night, in an episode marking the show’s return after a break of several months. Presenter John Barron announced the booking on X on Friday, describing Piker as an influential and controversial commentator who would discuss the rise of Democratic socialists and the populist left.

AIJAC executive director Colin Rubenstein said the decision was deeply troubling but not surprising. “Piker has a long and documented record of deeply divisive rhetoric, including inflammatory and antisemitic comments denigrating Jews, as well as rhetoric deeply sympathetic to Hamas, and to Hezbollah,” Rubenstein said.

“He has also been dismissive of the October 7 atrocities, including denial of the mass rape and sexual violence perpetrated against Israeli women.

“This decision to platform Mr Piker only reinforces longstanding concerns about systematic bias in the ABC’s coverage of Israel and Jews — concerns the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion has been examining closely. For instance, it is difficult to imagine the ABC would give a platform to a similarly extreme and divisive podcaster from the far-right.

“At a time when Australia is confronting the devastating consequences of antisemitism and extremism, at which point does the ABC stop pouring more fuel on the fire?”

Former ABC board member Joe Gersh said his disappointment with the broadcaster since October 7 had turned to outrage and, more recently, to despair. “Platforming Hasan Piker is as good example as you can find of the reason I feel the way I do,” Gersh said. “I’m certain that the majority of the Jewish community, or at least those who are persisting with the ABC despite all, feel the same way.”

The ADL’s Centre on Extremism published a profile of Piker in April, describing a history of rhetoric that sanitises violence and denigrates Jewish people. It put his combined following across social media platforms at around 11.3 million.

According to the profile, Piker has expressed explicit support for organisations designated as terrorist entities by the United States, including Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. In an interview with the podcast Pod Save America in April, he said that as a lesser-evil voter he would vote for Hamas over Israel every time. Discussing his favourite flag on a podcast last year, he nominated Hezbollah’s.

The ADL documents Piker denying the sexual violence committed during the October 7 attacks, despite findings by the United Nations and multiple international human rights organisations.

The profile also records Piker describing Zionism as “a mental illness” and arguing that any Zionist tendency should be treated the same way as being a rabid neo-Nazi, to the point that such a person should not be permitted to hold even the most minor public office. He has repeatedly used the words “inbred” and “psychopath” to describe Israeli and Orthodox Jews, later expressing regret for the former.

The ADL also cites Piker agreeing that a pro-Houthi teenager he had previously hosted was comparable to Anne Frank, and drawing parallels between Israel and Nazi Germany. It also documents misogynistic and racist remarks made on his streams, and notes his Twitch account has been suspended on multiple occasions, including for using the phrase “Zionist pig”.

Piker is the nephew of Cenk Uygur, founder of The Young Turks, where he began his career in 2016 before launching his own Twitch channel in 2018. The ADL notes Piker has interviewed and campaigned for prominent left-wing American politicians, and has spoken at events organised by groups including Students for Justice in Palestine and American Muslims for Palestine.

An ABC spokesperson told the Sunday Telegraph that Piker was an influential political commentator and a significant figure in the US midterms campaign.

“Planet America will provide context about why he is regarded as a controversial figure, including comments made by him that have been the subject of criticism,” the spokesperson said, adding that the purpose of the interview was to examine the role and influence of a significant political figure in the news cycle, and that interviews were not an endorsement of an interviewee’s views.