Hasan Piker Was Just Playing a Character, Actually. Also: Russian Bots. Also: A Senate Debate.

Darlings, Wednesday handed us three separate Hasan Piker storylines before lunch. Let us be efficient.

On the Ziwe interview: what we know. Per a report out of NDTV Sports on October 14, HasanAbi fired back at critics who took his Ziwe interview at face value, claiming he was playing a character the entire time. The interview, you will recall, already spawned a full discourse cycle about whether he got "destroyed" by the comedian.

On the Ziwe interview: what we don't know. Which parts were the character, exactly. The whole thing? Specific answers? And if this feels familiar, it's because the National Review "champagne socialist" bit followed the exact same arc two days ago: Hasan says something, media takes it straight, Hasan says it was a bit. We are on a journey.

On the Russian bots accusation: what we know. Also per NDTV Sports on October 14, there are allegedly circulating claims that Piker used Russian bots to inflate his Twitch viewership, following what the report describes as a dip in his numbers. Asmongold, reportedly, laughed. That's the signal. That is the whole signal.

On the Russian bots accusation: what we don't know. Basically everything substantive. What the actual viewership numbers are. Who made the accusation and on what basis. Whether there is a single piece of evidence attached to this claim. Allegedly is doing a lot of structural work here and we are keeping receipts accordingly. Asmongold finding it funny tells us about Asmongold, not about the bots.

On the Senate debate: what we know. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported October 14 that Georgia senators Jon Ossoff and Jon Collins faced off and Hasan Piker came up in the same conversation as white nationalism, Epstein, and Abdul El-Sayed's ties to the streamer. A sitting U.S. senator is now debating another senator about a Twitch streamer's political adjacency. We are here.

On the Senate debate: what we don't know. Who brought him up first, what specifically was said, and whether this helps or hurts the candidates invoking his name. Historically, darling that is not a denial of relevance.

Three storylines, one man, roughly 72 hours. We wish him strength in this trying time of his own making, and we will be watching the Twitch numbers personally.