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Fidias Panayiotou

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Fidias Panayiotou
MEP
Φειδίας Παναγιώτου
Official portrait, 2024
Member of the European Parliament for Cyprus
Incumbent
Assumed office
16 July 2024
Personal details
Born (2000-04-10) 10 April 2000 (age 24)
Meniko, Nicosia, Cyprus[1]
CitizenshipCypriot
Political partyIndependent
Military service
AllegianceCyprus
Branch/serviceCyprus Navy
UnitUnderwater Demolition Team
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2019–present
Subscribers2.6 million[2]
Total views645 million[2]
100,000 subscribers
1,000,000 subscribers2023
Last updated: 1 August 2024

Fidias Panayiotou MEP (Greek: Φειδίας Παναγιώτου; born 10 April 2000[3][4]), known mononymously as Fidias, is a Cypriot politician[5] and YouTuber who was elected as an independent MEP in the 2024 European Parliament election.[6]

Personal life

[edit]

Fidias was born in Meniko, in the Nicosia District of Cyprus.[7] During his mandatory military service, he served in the Cypriot Underwater Demolition Team.[8] He has a girlfriend named Styliana.[9]

Career

[edit]

YouTube career

[edit]

Fidias began posting videos on YouTube in 2019.[10]

On October 8, 2022, Fidias began on a mission to hug Elon Musk after having hugged 99 other celebrities.[11] While waiting outside Twitter's headquarters for Musk to appear almost everyday, he encouraged his followers to "spam" Elon's mother, Maye Musk, with his request, which she described as "malicious".[12] On January 21, 2023, Musk met and hugged Fidias in the headquarters building.[11]

In January 2023, Fidias announced on Cypriot television his intention to interview every candidate running for the 2023 Cypriot presidential election.[13] He hosted 12 out of the 14 candidates; with Nikos Christodoulides and Andreas Mavroyiannis, the two front-runners, not accepting his invitation.[14]

As of August 1, 2024, he had more than 2.66 million subscribers on YouTube.[15]

Fare evasion videos

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In September 2023, Fidias uploaded a video of himself freeriding on the Bengaluru Metro in India.[16] The management of the train service responded that they would be filing a criminal case against him.[17]

On October 20, 2023, he continued with a video on travelling across Japan for free with three other YouTubers. He travelled on public transportation modes such as buses and trains while skipping on paying for his fare through various means, and begging for cash. He also passed himself off as a guest of a hotel that he was not staying at to help himself to its breakfast. He was criticized for his actions in the video, and made an apology video, which was subsequently deleted. YouTube also removed this video along with four others, including a 2022 video on travelling across United Kingdom for free, for violating its community guidelines.[10][5][18][19]

Political career

[edit]

European Parliament (2024–present)

[edit]
Main article: 2024 European Parliament election in Cyprus § Fidias Panayiotou

In April 2024, Fidias announced his candidacy to the European Parliament, running on an anti-partisan platform[20] and stating his goal to promote youth involvement in politics.[15] As a TikToker with no prior political experience, he was widely regarded as a novelty candidate, attracting significant media attention and energizing younger voters.[21] He emphasised education as his priority, aiming to enhance schools by eliminating exams and promoting self-education.[22] He also acknowledged the significance of artificial intelligence and Bitcoin.[23] Fidias finished third with 19.4% of the popular vote, topping the polls and securing a seat in the European Parliament.[15][24][25]

During his first days in office he let people vote in social media polls for his party affiliation and voting decisions as MEP.[26][27] On June 9, Panayiotou let people vote in a poll on TikTok if he should join the Greens–European Free Alliance or remain independent.[26][28] He claims that 10% of the entire population of Cyprus voted in the poll and 76% voted that he would remain independent which he then did.[29] He calls his method a more "direct democracy with the people."[29][26] In July 2024, he voted against Ursula von der Leyen remaining the president of the European Commission, in accordance with the results of a poll he conducted on his X account.[30] In December of the same year, Fidias announced he was "creating an app for direct democracy", through which European citizens will be able to vote, and have a direct saying on matters discussed in the European parliament.[31]

Fidias was heavily scrutinised by media in both Greece and Cyprus for meeting with Turkish Cypriot influencer Ibrahim Beycanli (known by his online alias Urban Cypriot) and saying he was only taught "half the history" regarding the Cyprus problem. Their collaboration was made public on 14 August 2024, the 50-year remembrance of the second Turkish invasion, a day also marked by Solomos Solomou's killing at the hands of Turkish occupation forces in 1996.[32][33][34] Within the Turkish Cypriot community, the video received mixed reactions.[35]

On 13 December 2024, Fidias and Beycanli organized an event featuring Andreas Mavroyiannis and Özdil Nami, former negotiators from both sides of the Cyprus settlement talks, to discuss the past, present, and future of the negotiations. The event was open to the public and it was streamed live on Fidias' social media.[36][37]

References

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  1. ^ "Από το Μένοικο στο LA – Φειδίας Παναγιώτου" [From Meniko to LA – Fidias Panayiotou]. YouTube (in Greek). 27 January 2023. Archived from the original on 21 April 2023.
  2. ^ a b "About Fidias". YouTube.
  3. ^ Cebeci, Nazlican. "Chi è Fidias Panayiotou? Età, nazionalità e numero di follower dello youtuber e influencer eletto al Parlamento europeo da indipendente" (in Italian). Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  4. ^ Solutions, BDigital Web. "Youtube star to political contender with Elon Musk". knews.com.cy. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  5. ^ a b Yong, Nicholas (25 October 2023). "Fidias: YouTuber sorry for freeloading stunt video in Japan". BBC News. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  6. ^ Kades, Andria; Cleaver, Tom (9 June 2024). "Fidias in third place, exit polls show". Cyprus Mail. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  7. ^ Polignosi. "Παναγιώτου Φειδίας". www.polignosi.com. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  8. ^ Reddy, Naveen (1 December 2023). "Fidias Panayiotou - Detailed Biography". youthmotivator4life.com. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  9. ^ Fidias (19 September 2024). We Traveled Across Europe to Test Our Relationship. Retrieved 25 September 2024 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ a b Tan, Kwan Wei Kevin. "A YouTuber is getting dragged for saying he traveled across Japan for 'free' by begging and hiding in train toilets to hitch free rides". Insider. Archived from the original on 30 October 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  11. ^ a b Dodgson, Lindsay (23 January 2023). "Elon Musk finally met the superfan who camped outside Twitter's headquarters for months hoping to hug him". Insider. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  12. ^ Lloyd, Andrew (6 December 2022). "A YouTuber has camped outside Elon Musk's offices for 47 days to try and convince the Twitter CEO to hug him". Insider. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  13. ^ "Φειδίας Παναγιώτου: Ο Κύπριος TikToker ήρθε στο νησί για να κάνει podcast με τους υποψήφιους Προέδρους - Βίντεο". tothemaonline.com (in Greek). Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  14. ^ Έκανα Συνέντευξη σε 12/14 Υποψήφιους Προέδρους, February 2023, retrieved 26 March 2024
  15. ^ a b c Wong, Vicky (10 June 2024). "YouTube prankster voted in as Cyprus MEP". BBC News. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  16. ^ "YouTuber Fidias Panayiotou lambasted for sneaking a free ride on Bengaluru Metro". The Indian Express. 23 September 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  17. ^ "YouTuber jumps Bengaluru Metro gate, BMRCL says will file criminal case". The Times of India. 24 September 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  18. ^ "Fidias Panayiotou: YouTuber apologises for fare dodging, begging and eating without paying in Japan". Sky News. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  19. ^ "Railway operator investigates free-riding foreign YouTubers". The Japan Times. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  20. ^ "Υποψήφιος για να γίνει ο ίδιος η αλλαγή που θέλει, είπε ο Φειδίας Παναγιώτου". Cyprus Times (in Greek). 24 April 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  21. ^ "In Cyprus, a TikToker makes political waves ahead of the European election". POLITICO. 2 June 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  22. ^ Netcast Zone (15 March 2024). Όλα είναι κατορθωτά - Φειδίας Παναγιώτου | YOUth Inspire E54. Retrieved 25 May 2024 – via YouTube.
  23. ^ "Υποψήφιος ευρωβουλευτής ο Φειδίας – Οι θέσεις του (ΒΙΝΤΕΟ) | News". Sigmalive. 23 April 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  24. ^ "Έσπασε τα κοντέρ ο Φειδίας, κατέρριψε το ιστορικό ρεκόρ του Κασουλίδη-Πόσους ψήφους έλαβε ο κάθε Ευρωβουλευτής". Reporter Cyprus. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  25. ^ "Τα τελικά αποτελέσματα των Ευρωεκλογών - Τα ποσοστά των κομμάτων". Offsite. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  26. ^ a b c Oto, Wakaba (11 July 2024). "Nuisance YouTuber Elected to European Parliament". Tokyo Weekender. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  27. ^ Panayiotou, Fidias [@fidias0] (13 July 2024). "Ursula von der Leyen, Yes or No?". Retrieved 17 July 2024 – via Instagram.
  28. ^ "Fidias Panayiotou to decide on his vote on von der Leyen through online poll". Phileleftheros. 17 July 2024. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  29. ^ a b Panayiotou, Fidias [@fidias0] (8 July 2024). "How I Am The Most Democratic Politician". Retrieved 17 July 2024 – via Instagram.
  30. ^ "YouTuber MEP pledges to vote according to his followers' opinions". euronews. 17 July 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  31. ^ "MEP Fidias Panayiotou launches app for "direct democracy"". Brussels Signal. 10 December 2024. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  32. ^ "Φειδίας Παναγιώτου: Αντιδράσεις για το νέο του βίντεο με Τουρκοκύπριο influencer - «Μου δίδαξαν τη μισή ιστορία και να σε μισώ»" (in Greek). 14 August 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  33. ^ "Σάλος με βίντεο του Φειδία Παναγιώτου: «Με δίδαξαν τη μισή ιστορία, με χειραγώγησαν να σε μισώ» λέει σε Τουρκοκύπριο". www.dnews.gr (in Greek). 14 August 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  34. ^ tanea.gr (14 August 2024). "Έξαλλοι στην Κύπρο με τον Φειδία: «Μου δίδαξαν τη μισή ιστορία και να σε μισώ» λέει σε Τούρκο Influencer". ΤΑ ΝΕΑ (in Greek). Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  35. ^ Lyritsas, Loucianos (20 August 2024). "Cypriot YouTuber MEP stirs debate about island's division – DW – 08/20/2024". dw.com. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  36. ^ Solutions, BDigital Web. "Μαυρογιάννης-Ναμί στο τραπέζι των «διαπραγματεύσεων» με Φειδία". Kathimerini.com.cy (in Greek). Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  37. ^ "Former Cyprus peace negotiators clash over 2017 talks collapse". in-cyprus.philenews.com. 17 December 2024. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
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