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</style><![endif]--><!-- __merge_tags_in_links__ --><style></style></head><body class="a" style="margin:0px auto;padding:0px;word-wrap:normal;word-spacing:normal;background-color:#FFFFFF;"><div role="article" aria-roledescription="email" aria-label="email_name" lang="en" style="font-size:1rem"><div style="display:none;max-height:0px;overflow:hidden;"> The smear campaign against him has gone too far for too long.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ </div><table role="none" width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" class="gg"><tr><td align="center" valign="top"><table role="none" width="670" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="aa" style="width:670px;table-layout:fixed;"><tr><td class="bodyWrapper" align="center" valign="top" style="padding:10px 5px 10px 5px;"><table role="none" width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td align="center" valign="top" style="border-width:0px 0px 0px 0px;border-style: solid; border-color: #FFFFFF;border-radius:10px 10px 0px 0px;background-color:#FFFFFF;" class="c"><table role="none" width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr id="header"><td style="padding:15px 15px 0px 15px;"><div style="padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:20px;padding-left:0px;"><table role="none" width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td class="f" align="right" valign="top"><p> August 20, 2026 | <a data-read-online-tooltip="true" href="https://link.mail.beehiiv.com/ss/c/u001.FIK02fInvGXCNK3vQPbydX2TX2bVgL9wMkHYjIaKRxxxVaYdXWv750bSYimbo0X0bXh89GRYKjTKHVQEuUmf7em25fmmtl6l4tz-Hl8XRfo6vIUQKQK19SsXHaRzpmq3zk3CGvCrxw59wGZHRKOmCfIA8B0mSSnDUl9DHhMQSwlIHpGAfgLS7hhOoiAdWZQZH8SgzohOP3f6gRRBV7734Hi9JausGe5QYIC9GY2eVjbqmbzsOQnoV_Muq-_AKp_ZYRrV5pc3GnLTLgCptgLvjEuvwyKs7F7KUo0aifPgwAmiz0_rUYq-ubKmpmOBZt9i9kOUvAQ4g08Qwf2XLm-aXMIAfkqVQPPxHdm4u9kVb_PKfI3D8E8WBdBVREqtbrNN24jV21S2_mnVNe9nj9tEn2wC0s_bA9jz6Pl4rtDpEFl-jTkR32LHN-6fxHuccTwrJ6NAQg8ZuWcTSKp_JedAJpr2mfjsrOzHwLzT83x_-rgXHxQsohiicLqCAPCb49LaZoMivNghwV9bAlkRXV6BmVcBBUB5D18CcfqdTM_VBGq7rvsDPFZpFWS19pX1MFMlNHdjeY6PI-QqxT6eaVmTSjdgPPh_bwQ_LoFmZ7v7l2NW0uAuvHDgkDEdUMk1fCnzTiOI6cqTz5Oiji7-tQCDpSaFILHSZ0VO-kluCsIr5WwfDKj2p0WlYWD-FCz96os1zJvUr4J6OcUu1gXdQg-DhM-CbpaftvSeewhmrhKfts4wmb8kiNncou8KMH2aRswYV7WVoDlIkm_a_yljBwAF6Q/4tc/QP_ch_hfR8OpzBsK-XWiIw/h0/h001.a50p0ahZgPdNqzNOv6GuwvPsN87IrJHH86Zb2AmfndE">Read online</a></p></td></tr><tr><td class="dd" align="center" valign="top" style="padding:15px 0;"><table role="none" width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td align="center" valign="top"><h1 style="text-align:left;font-family:'Trebuchet MS','Lucida Grande',Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight:Bold;font-size:32px;color:#2A2A2A;padding:2px 0;line-height:38px;"> I’m glad Hasan Piker is fighting back </h1><p style="text-align:left;font-family:'Helvetica',Arial,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;font-size:20px;color:#3E3E3E;padding:5px 0;line-height:24px;"> The smear campaign against him has gone too far for too long. </p></td></tr></table></td></tr><tr><td><table role="none" width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><table role="none" width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" style="border-top:1px solid #E5E7EB;border-bottom:1px solid #E5E7EB;padding-top:12px;padding-bottom:12px;margin-bottom:15px;margin-top:15px;"><tr><td align="left" valign="middle"><table role="none" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="left"><tr><td align="left" valign="middle"><table role="none" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="left"><tr><td align="center" valign="middle"><a href="https://link.mail.beehiiv.com/ss/c/u001.FIK02fInvGXCNK3vQPbydX2TX2bVgL9wMkHYjIaKRxwMZk1nX28tH0OlwM-tqksBw03EQKifG7sKArKUws8kt8jLBb4lfsod8TuJKHSceRS5QaqcuCCY-0KVIWzIOlRMk-EZUxpJFcJCCaHd4J8BARcURPcNYopX5FOgEKbefAmRnpvbVHd3_JRxYzeOhk2LftP14am-s9Il2O-Hiaf13gVFqhARW2tFwK89psRBuE6YvnBbDdIhqCOyyl4eLOiXj8LZ2IK1v0HXkx4REddTLtwp8MhqzLjUoohUoJEaIWpLVCj1U0SoniqSz3mu4PoOFN7IIqsAiQiM7e0DOIJ5HWNxbCmsr2R--mU9tdsLQbZEvuQWdYsg8SE3Hd5dhKVUYkewL7ETRow7lpuWdIjnOtuY272BSigFq3bZgWqy92kGjGSub6n_yT_WCuUovkhAcW6oob6q6DjBN30MMXcTQLWXV8ouTG3fvn_n4h1EjbwakXbjyBRuN6bt5vse31yI-ZxNUU9OqXpFc5l6iRGJq-UvZFuNj9IDTcWI4_77y2fZbgQf39c1GgfSt4o4gA2x2DIKMNotTr8yodzks1rEv0-t2u7BmZtlp0xWYNNxa1hOTGcmsBQmv7cK5v7XpxpUbpu-IM645xUrWfrfz-iET6RSnRGwYXmspnsp93dCtS2SQ_WTaEH4WcPT6xDRVr0YVEU7Pu_EddDinEwFKJAlgBRxgnHBytHOzqIOL2yYebTwdlV2iZN3aSGG1nJanS2FdKYmm0BN6rl4gTePcv6JGbnN06CwuHmTwfgug_m7C7p178wAJRdAIOWdC6ggtmbQu0mk30B-ByqZ-0M37-ftw5nIRO6olep1MAXoh1L8G2P-Nt11ZQyGK8SOyjARJUUg/4tc/QP_ch_hfR8OpzBsK-XWiIw/h1/h001.LURHzfMwzoFTao6l7F5RKN867XR2YMPRBL9ttl5H4q8" style="text-decoration:none; display:block;"><table role="none" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td align="center" valign="middle" style="border: 1px solid #E5E7EB; border-radius: 100%; width: 18px; height: 18px; padding: 8px;"><img style="display:block; width:100%; height:100%; max-width:18px; max-height:18px; object-fit: contain;" alt="like" width="18" height="18" border="0" src="https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/static_assets/header/like.png"/></td></tr></table></a></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></td><td align="right" valign="middle"></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></td></tr><tr><td style="line-height:0;"><div data-open-tracking="true"> <img src="https://link.mail.beehiiv.com/ss/o/u001.52hRbZ5bjhIlawsIDKScVg/4tc/QP_ch_hfR8OpzBsK-XWiIw/ho.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" border="0" style="height:1px !important;width:1px !important;border-width:0 !important;margin-top:0 !important;margin-bottom:0 !important;margin-right:0 !important;margin-left:0 !important;padding-top:0 !important;padding-bottom:0 !important;padding-right:0 !important;padding-left:0 !important;"/> </div></td></tr></table></div></td></tr><tr id="content-blocks"><td class="email-card-body" align="center" valign="top" style="padding-bottom:15px;"><table role="none" width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td class="dd" align="left" style="padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;"><p style="mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;"> Last week, CNN political commentator Scott Jennings posted an <a class="link" href="https://link.mail.beehiiv.com/ss/c/u001.xKky0oHbIR8GsvQMwFDbz8Awnh8CQhM_p7v823_-Aa4b5udqf4Gv2lHHM5yU0RP2OsQBX3mDip4CZ3hjHvlbFN8L0sTaBgQH_siNtJXuzAOms_Fa9VGVQwn9yoYH3CTjEt_1aLTHqvdfvFlGjdQchSnwj57tYRWT-a-wWV6506dbuSUlfTYhCDLaYkBww-yUwubfjrd0lbcFbgvvUOAtfHcsBResO4A2pgJIdVSshhq0RjkUx6Qd440yIUkluHW4-BHCRZDjKl4uA3YYSIf0IxXmzodZEcz6TZVrj9XFGy0CG17YPMyajq-C6Qf1vGJi/4tc/QP_ch_hfR8OpzBsK-XWiIw/h2/h001.x-V6z_uVBaATYefGLVGbqxunG7fuXoKEHqqXnWX3k4U" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><span>attack video</span></a> against leftist streamer Hasan Piker, leveraging it as a way to undermine Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who campaigned with Piker in Michigan. Jennings’ video featured a series of clips taken from Piker’s popular Twitch livestreams, including one where Piker said “Go back to a better time, when lynchings were happening.” </p></td></tr><tr><td class="dd" align="left" style="padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;"><p style="mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;"> Sounds pretty bad, right? Jennings certainly thought so. He urged “every Black voter” to listen and consider joining the Republican Party, to fight back against the racist rhetoric Piker was using. Here’s the issue: Piker wasn’t calling for lynchings against Black people. He was <a class="link" href="https://link.mail.beehiiv.com/ss/c/u001.xKky0oHbIR8GsvQMwFDbz6bgeoSS6YHyl1BTr3Y0_hQ_nrz9BHQlcUhFBU2KCiADX3rkX3xw8dzRSBNl-VxNvP3G_A73VnXRJtEm72BkmchyVFWepvYYYn4mUZcdkLhEOv4WBdiEGoS13g3-e3w_5imWfNIE_TN-zPVph1b5OAvUlk8-ShvLXoZyXmUyem4BmlbV8PQZU7Noj_z5joQsxmvnRwozeUh7Ls6oAM70BMbkquOehyssCk3pNMNPxdN8MD095UtuotqL2NqhJp_E9G2zO9J0Fn9z7SF9Ck7VXzc/4tc/QP_ch_hfR8OpzBsK-XWiIw/h3/h001.0-VQltzt1NB7Av8skcRnsdle2kgdJiGxa-jqr_gh9Yw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><span>sarcastically mocking</span></a> a clip featuring a Black Republican who was calling for the end of so-called “woke” district attorneys. </p></td></tr><tr><td class="dd" align="left" style="padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;"><p style="mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;"> This kind of smear tactic has become a relentless cycle for Piker and the progressive candidates he has supported, who have often gone on to great success (just look at <a class="link" href="https://link.mail.beehiiv.com/ss/c/u001.FIK02fInvGXCNK3vQPbydX2TX2bVgL9wMkHYjIaKRxyx_p8eD7EZ8BKU4gtsSEGr7PqQUI3bvm4Wbh11Bq5DscLOPt5mgYDd6h6fnD4LyDbLN8IWMFUzhUEwtIEnMnGHYp4CRbLuAvR7Y02equ4ZBesQedQkcMVfkdGBaJtzkOVybKxkbYj69DODQzjaH5cfWug-_3Exn7OKf0HRGcJXFJJ0gzTfICc8ZbpgrCAbp1qqyHFwzY2PaVVkGuxdNTKsLpU4JWkNBh_dD-xaMzc2I3fDfW5zsU49voDSPDVBQ-v0sk_SFZOPkmxPVXFqjntinooQ-X1mT-1IwwA5VvU955-Oe5maMFdmbWoxb9XEiMHqT2P22D8KOvC_ZAPFzEHETzGYudkh8pyyvd7S0njvMvuyX00ZCShr15_MoCXQ-46aZPil6Fswo-90b1Jv1IHn7UGp_iwOa_mpb4pW47CWCm5pV9VFDBGKcbt3-lgD1iu8ndwLbLnIR_nM88NcLuNjfR1QYleDdKTTHbLMqx8P2oESwsnXFG4e2B1L9_msZglLDty_0BEDZCrBrxc2nIJXtAU96LPYGiXHFHQmhfShPP3qoDsuE71JLG-cKfN3UmSfK95Af95_6hhnrDEShxJa7Fz0N7YkCMorMzEpaRFZqHMmfdBNCbGoKLJRzQSQJq8wo9US68Y56QRsGd9JIt-KQvU2qNcWZglHZDJAr0vjH2E65k9wkrmEmv-SkqV1si4KCCwRymb1bk-4z2DRFSlw/4tc/QP_ch_hfR8OpzBsK-XWiIw/h4/h001.xpOGLlNHnT871iSFbACt78NUkfH3JaJHv1gg183tsk4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><span>Zohran Mamdani</span></a>). An opponent—from Republicans like Jennings to alt-right Twitch streamers to establishment Democrats—clips Piker out-of-context, recycles his old controversies (like saying America “deserved” 9/11, which he has <a class="link" href="https://link.mail.beehiiv.com/ss/c/u001.xKky0oHbIR8GsvQMwFDbzxWBbBdm8VTccyjAL2tI_CGY8ZdRutPtIx3uABgTHJU0ZbuXVYa6VBuJaoCjuCGu1ZRP_smS0IJeI8yU0rHz1oFd_vooR8u8MYqk901m544dQw_gDiVmQ9ef9eIv6jRyHFuprsW2pkJLzyjDNGgKdlVmHWBsuqEQS6p9raywnBXDxlAxbS4kU-Ye6vWyHffB6A7-GISYsoX0Eiy0a3VCkLsaihv5_MeB8N0nFEnQ1vxj85ubQoAYTIlV8-Ltsb6XQdCbMkNW8LobL2KhTAhkdm36QVsrBXVmA5mOEGouS2WYAz0nQRVeggEfA-vGsMfbI8c368qXhWxVs3efLiWdbV0/4tc/QP_ch_hfR8OpzBsK-XWiIw/h5/h001.otetv3ZiaSTk70Y7PJ6hPQODqFwELylAPUyv4U9DQXo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><span>long since apologized</span></a> for), and makes bold insinuations about everything from his clothing choices to his occasionally crude language. For well over a year now, mainstream media outlets have been transfixed by Piker. The phrase “Hasan Derangement Syndrome,” which I sadly did not come up with myself, has never been more fitting. </p></td></tr><tr><td class="dd" align="left" style="padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;"><p style="mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;"> But this time, Piker has announced plans to fight back. He told his audience and <a class="link" href="https://link.mail.beehiiv.com/ss/c/u001.xKky0oHbIR8GsvQMwFDbz5gKmzPV3LMZp0EHaIozRN8Ky4iJN6WOmuVM72yJIYM_Gd4Q3lBzQEaY3KWLKg27zp_fIaIXdrYQM-WKzbAnKXnbbK7RJOBoRHkRrSuPV9K_HKIgxnxj0qRs2ZZ-voJVyOcRsy2C5CbSyNE1DUhAee-J1qKiQQdzD2gXLBdFqR9dzBfXPSqHG1UAOMysKJxQHaxrd-L1hV-QqJC9oJIK0nBAQu37uFViLv3geHMTEq972Z2no5XKHSZRhaUTu7XkndSwTfhbyX17oDBNOJlbiC3Hm3R8w5Tiad0z_Irh7mDX/4tc/QP_ch_hfR8OpzBsK-XWiIw/h6/h001.gTwPmOUmBOE1IvJ5u3hB6K05uu70Yj8Ou_v-Jy-dC4E" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><span>the newsletter Status</span></a> that his legal team is working on a defamation lawsuit against Jennings. I’m glad to hear it. Unlike most people who get smeared by right-wing media, Piker can absolutely afford a costly suit. And the smear campaign against him has become a liability for progressive politics at large, especially when it comes to those who criticize Israel’s genocide of Palestinians. You don’t even have to like Piker or agree with everything he’s said to acknowledge how dangerous the lies and efforts to censor and deplatform him are. </p></td></tr><tr><td class="dd" align="left" style="padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;"><p style="mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;"> I interviewed Piker about this, as well as some of the parallels between his predicament and other cases I’ve covered like <i>Depp v. Heard</i>. </p></td></tr><tr><td align="center" valign="top"><table role="none" width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" style="background-color:#FFFFFF !important;color:#2D2D2D !important;padding-bottom:calc(15px * 2);padding-left:15px;padding-right:15px;padding-top:calc(15px * 2);"><tbody class="email-paywall-break-body" style="background-color:#FFFFFF !important;color:#2D2D2D !important;display:table;width:100%;"><tr><td align="center" valign="top"><img src="https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/publication/logo/2f1777da-4def-4e85-977b-495bb18a0532/thumb_Screenshot_2025-02-03_at_11.48.19_AM.png" alt="Spitfire News" height="auto" width=56 style="height:auto;max-width:56px;padding:12px 0px;" border="0"/></td></tr><tr><td class="dd" align="center" valign="top" style="color:#2D2D2D !important;font-weight:600;padding:0px 15px;text-align:center;"><h2 style="color:#2D2D2D 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