Zeteo's Mehdi Hasan and Andrew Perez call Piker's comparison "objectively true" on death tolls
Mehdi HasanBroadcaster and founder of Zeteo, co-writing a signed analysis piece with Andrew Perez
In a signed analysis piece for Zeteo co-written with Andrew Perez, Mehdi Hasan defended Piker's comparison as accurate on the specific measure Piker used, the number of deaths. The authors cited Brown University's Costs of War estimate of 432,000 civilians killed by direct post-9/11 war violence in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and Pakistan between 2001 and 2023, along with Vietnam, Laos and Indonesia, and argued that al-Qaeda's death toll bears no comparison. They said Axios's headline was calibrated to maximise outrage while crediting the outlet for interviewing Piker, and drew a parallel to Trump's 2017 remark to Bill O'Reilly that "we've got a lot of killers" and "do you think our country's so innocent?" They also characterised the wider response as a cancellation campaign. The casualty estimates are as the authors cite them and their characterisations of other actors are their own.
“Piker's comment, while obviously controversial, is objectively true. … Terror attacks by al-Qaeda have killed thousands of innocent people over the past three decades, but in terms of "the number of deaths" there is no real comparison to be made. … Yes, Trump lies all the time, but his point there was correct. So was Piker's.”
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
Signed analysis piece co-bylined by Andrew Perez and Mehdi Hasan, founder of Zeteo, published September 17, 2026. It defends Piker's comparison as accurate on death tolls, citing Brown University's Costs of War estimate of 432,000 civilians killed by direct post-9/11 war violence in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and Pakistan between 2001 and 2023, alongside Vietnam, Laos and Indonesia figures, and argues Axios's headline was calibrated for outrage. It draws a parallel to Trump's 2017 remark to Bill O'Reilly, "There are a lot of killers. We've got a lot of killers. What, do you think our country's so innocent?" It also reports reactions from CNN commentator Scott Jennings and activist Shannon Watts, characterised in the authors' own terms. Note a factual variance on the Minab strike: the piece says the airstrikes killed 150 people including more than 100 children, whereas Piker says 140 schoolgirls; neither figure is established here, and the UN fact-finding mission's report is recorded separately in this case.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The piece opens by saying Piker is being dragged again by bad-faith actors over a clip from the Axios interview, and that the outlet's headline was calibrated for outrage. It notes Axios had released only a 56-second preview at the time of writing, and reproduces the full exchange in which Alex Thompson cites Piker's earlier "top dog in terrorism" remark before asking the al-Qaeda question.
After the quotation
The authors argue U.S. terror attacks have increased under Trump, citing the Minab school strike, and say the campaign against Piker seeks to make him the top midterm issue rather than the Iran war. They report that CNN's Scott Jennings mocked Democrats over the clip and that activist Shannon Watts responded sarcastically; those characterisations are the authors' and neither reaction is recorded here from its own source.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Hasan and Perez endorse it directly, calling it "objectively true" on the death-toll measure Piker specified and concluding "So was Piker's." That places them with Piker (955, 967) and opposite El-Sayed (956), Lara Trump (966) and Rogers (968). The closest competing label is “Challenged the characterization”, since much of the piece attacks Axios's headline and the wider coverage; it loses because the authors go on to affirm the underlying claim on the merits rather than only disputing how it was framed.
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- People and groups discussed
- Hasan Piker
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- Zeteo's Mehdi Hasan and Andrew Perez call Piker's comparison "objectively true" on death tolls
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The Dispute Index. "Zeteo's Mehdi Hasan and Andrew Perez call Piker's comparison "objectively true" on death tolls". First published: 2026-09-17. Last updated: 2026-09-22. https://disputeindex.com/events/971-in-a-signed-analysis-piece-for-zeteo-co