Expressing amazement, with a touch of exaggeration and a critical tone, various media outlets in the old continent covered the election of Fidias Panayiotou to the European Parliament.
For example, the Italian newspaper “la Repubblica”, in its online edition on Saturday afternoon, was quick to note with a fair amount of hyperbole in its title: “Surprise in Cyprus, a YouTuber wins two out of six seats alone”.
The brief report that followed was not as emphatic, as it merely included the exit polls. As can be inferred, the title deliberately contained an exaggeration, apparently to highlight Fidias’s unexpectedly high percentage.
A more reserved approach was taken by CORRIERE DELLA SERA, which spoke of the right being in the lead, but added: “The surprise is YouTuber Fidias Panayiotou”.
The Italian Quotidiano Nazionale (“National Newspaper”), a product of the collaboration of four publications, notes: “Who is Fidias, the Cypriot YouTuber elected to the European Parliament: 2 million followers and no agenda”.
The financial newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore titled its article on Panayiotou’s election as: “The YouTuber who challenges traditional politics in the European House”.
On the website of the German magazine Der Spiegel, a reference was made to the voting intention survey under the title: “Influencer Fidias Panayiotou is likely to gather 18 percent of the vote from the outset”.
The report begins with the following reference: “He usually sets himself impromptu challenges on YouTube, but now he has a new one: the Cypriot has managed to be elected to the European Parliament”.
Other media note the following:
- euractiv.com: “A Youtuber shakes Cyprus’ political landscape”.
- Ukrainian online newspaper European Pravda: “In Cyprus, a 24-year-old YouTuber who ‘knows nothing about politics’ is elected to the European Parliament”.
- The Barcelona-based Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia notes: “Fidias Panayiotou, the Cypriot YouTuber who never voted in his life, will become an MEP”.
- The French-language Swiss newspaper Le Matin reports: “Cyprus sends a 24-year-old YouTuber to the European Parliament”.
- The Spanish La Razón leads its article with the following: “In Cyprus, an Alvise Pérez also wins: This is the YouTuber and politician Fidias Panayiotou and his unlikely videos”. Perez, with whom Panayiotou is compared in this article, is a Spanish politician. On a Wikipedia page, it is noted that Perez engages in “content dissemination via the internet, especially via Telegram and X, which is often considered false. This led to the indefinite suspension of his activity on X”.
