Mike Figueredo: Axios "farmed outrage" off Piker to tee up attacks on El-Sayed
Mike FigueredoHost, The Humanist Report
Mike Figueredo defended Piker, noting that the Axios interviewer rather than Piker introduced the al-Qaeda comparison, and argued the interview was designed to generate outrage that could be used against Abdul El-Sayed.
“If you'll recall, Hasan didn't even bring up al-Qaeda on his own volition. It was the interviewer who chose to invoke al-Qaeda. ... The goal was to farm outrage off of him specifically to tee up attacks against Abdul El-Sayed, a Muslim candidate that the Republican Party wants you to believe is a terrorist sympathizer.”
Analysis
Where this statement fits
Hasan Piker's Axios Show interview claims about terrorism, Iran, China and Israel
In an interview for "The Axios Show" conducted by Alex Thompson, Hasan Piker was asked whether America commits more terrorism than the organization behind the September 11 attacks and answered "Pound for pound as far as the number of deaths, yes," adding that the United States has "caused tremendous terror all around the world." He cited a U.S. missile strike on an elementary school in Minab, Iran, and said the analysis does not justify the September 11 attacks. Excerpts published September 17, 2026 also carried his view that the Middle East would be more stable if Iran had a nuclear weapon, while he said he does not want Iran, the United States, Russia or China to possess nuclear arms and was not advocating Iranian armament. The full episode, published September 18, added further contested claims: that Mao Zedong was "a great man of history" whose "excesses" were "deaths born out of mismanagement and famine"; that a Chinese child may have better conditions than an American one within two decades; that "Zionism is fascism" and that he is not worried his audience would turn violent against Zionists; and that Israel "in its current formation" should not be a U.S. ally. Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan for whom Piker campaigned in the primary, rejected the al-Qaeda comparison. The dispute is whether these claims are defensible analysis of U.S., Middle Eastern and Chinese policy or indefensible positions, and what they mean for the candidates associated with him.
Source and context
Analysis
About this source
26-minute commentary video from progressive YouTube show The Humanist Report, published September 18, 2026, defending Piker and accusing Axios and MS NOW of manufacturing outrage. Quotations are our transcription of the video audio. Figueredo's characterisation of Axios's motives is his own assertion, not an established finding.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Said in a 26-minute commentary video published to The Humanist Report's YouTube channel on September 18, 2026, responding to both the Axios interview and Piker's MS NOW appearance.
After the quotation
Figueredo said critics "refuse to grapple with the substance of Hasan's assertion," and cited a September 1 argument by Ken Klippenstein that the reaction to Piker is aimed at El-Sayed's Senate campaign. His characterisation of Axios's motives is his own assertion, not an established finding.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Relative to the claim at issue -- that America commits more terrorism than al-Qaeda -- Figueredo defends it, saying critics "refuse to grapple with the substance" because the idea that America "statistically speaking, commits more acts of terrorism than Al Qaeda is too much for these people to bear." He also challenges the framing by noting the interviewer introduced the comparison.
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- People and groups discussed
- Hasan Piker
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The Dispute Index. "Mike Figueredo: Axios "farmed outrage" off Piker to tee up attacks on El-Sayed". First published: 2026-09-18. Last updated: 2026-09-18. https://disputeindex.com/events/1045-mike-figueredo-defended-piker-noting-that-the-axios