Fidias Panayiotou

Cypriot YouTuber and politician (born 2000)

Φειδίας Παναγιώτου
MEP
Official parliamentary portrait, 2024
Member of the European Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office
16 July 2024ConstituencyCyprus Personal detailsBorn (2000-04-10) 10 April 2000 (age 24)
Meniko, Nicosia, Cyprus[1]CitizenshipCypriotPolitical partyIndependent
  • Fidias
Years active2019–presentSubscribers2.63 million[2]Total views600 million[2]
Creator Awards
100,000 subscribers
1,000,000 subscribers2023
Last updated: 24 June 2024

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

Personal life

Fidias was born in Meniko, in the Nicosia District of Cyprus.[6] During his mandatory military service, he served in the Cypriot Underwater Demolition Team.[7]

Career

YouTube career

Fidias began posting videos on YouTube in 2019.[8]

On October 8, 2022, Fidias began on a mission to hug Elon Musk after having hugged 99 other celebrities.[9] 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".[10] On January 21, 2023, Elon Musk would meet and hug Fidias in the headquarters building.[9]

In January 2023, Fidias announced on Cypriot television his intention to interview every candidate running for the 2023 Cypriot presidential election.[11] He hosted 12 out of the 14 candidates; with Nikos Christodoulides and Andreas Mavroyiannis, the two front-runners, not accepting his invitation.[12]

Fare evasion videos

In September 2023, Fidias uploaded a video of himself freeriding on the Bengaluru Metro in India.[13] The management of the train service responded that they would be filing a criminal case against him.[14]

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.[8][4][15][16]

As of June 10, 2024[update], he had more than 2.6 million subscribers on YouTube.[17]

Political career

European Parliament (2024–present)

In April 2024, Fidias announced his candidacy to the European Parliament, running on an anti-partisan platform[18] and stating his goal to promote youth involvement in politics.[17] He emphasised education as his priority, aiming to enhance schools by eliminating exams and promoting self-education.[19] He also acknowledged the significance of artificial intelligence and Bitcoin.[20] Fidias finished third with 19.4% of the popular vote, topping the polls and securing a seat in the European Parliament.[17][21][22]

During his first days in office he let people vote in social media polls for his party affiliation and voting decisions as MEP.[23][24] On June 9 Panayiotou let people vote in a poll on TikTok if he should join the Greens–European Free Alliance or remain independent.[23][25] 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.[26] He calls his method a more "direct democracy with the people."[26][23]

References

  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. ^ Solutions, BDigital Web. "Youtube star to political contender with Elon Musk". knews.com.cy. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  4. ^ a b Yong, Nicholas (25 October 2023). "Fidias: YouTuber sorry for freeloading stunt video in Japan". BBC News. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  5. ^ Kades, Andria; Cleaver, Tom (9 June 2024). "Fidias in third place, exit polls show". Cyprus Mail. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  6. ^ Polignosi. "Παναγιώτου Φειδίας". www.polignosi.com. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  7. ^ Reddy, Naveen (1 December 2023). "Fidias Panayiotou - Detailed Biography". youthmotivator4life.com. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  8. ^ 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. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  9. ^ a b Dodgson, Lindsay. "Elon Musk finally met the superfan who camped outside Twitter's headquarters for months hoping to hug him". Insider. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  10. ^ Lloyd, Andrew. "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.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ Έκανα Συνέντευξη σε 12/14 Υποψήφιους Προέδρους, February 2023, retrieved 26 March 2024
  13. ^ "YouTuber Fidias Panayiotou lambasted for sneaking a free ride on Bengaluru Metro". The Indian Express. 23 September 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  14. ^ "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.
  15. ^ "Fidias Panayiotou: YouTuber apologises for fare dodging, begging and eating without paying in Japan". Sky News. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  16. ^ "Railway operator investigates free-riding foreign YouTubers". The Japan Times. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  17. ^ a b c Wong, Vicky (10 June 2024). "YouTube prankster voted in as Cyprus MEP". BBC News. Retrieved 11 June 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ^ "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.
  19. ^ Netcast Zone (15 March 2024). Όλα είναι κατορθωτά - Φειδίας Παναγιώτου | YOUth Inspire E54. Retrieved 25 May 2024 – via YouTube.
  20. ^ "Υποψήφιος ευρωβουλευτής ο Φειδίας – Οι θέσεις του (ΒΙΝΤΕΟ) | News". Sigmalive. 23 April 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  21. ^ "Έσπασε τα κοντέρ ο Φειδίας, κατέρριψε το ιστορικό ρεκόρ του Κασουλίδη-Πόσους ψήφους έλαβε ο κάθε Ευρωβουλευτής". Reporter Cyprus. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  22. ^ "Τα τελικά αποτελέσματα των Ευρωεκλογών - Τα ποσοστά των κομμάτων". Offsite. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  23. ^ a b c Oto, Wakaba (11 July 2024). "Nuisance YouTuber Elected to European Parliament". Tokyo Weekender. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  24. ^ Panayiotou, Fidias [@fidias0] (13 July 2024). "Ursula von der Leyen, Yes or No?". Retrieved 17 July 2024 – via Instagram.
  25. ^ "Fidias Panayiotou to decide on his vote on von der Leyen through online poll". Phileleftheros. 17 July 2024. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  26. ^ a b Panayiotou, Fidias [@fidias0] (8 July 2024). "How I Am The Most Democratic Politician". Retrieved 17 July 2024 – via Instagram.