YouTuber Fidias runs independent in EU elections

Influencer and YouTuber Fidias Panayiotou said he hopes his independent candidacy to June’s European Parliament elections “will bring something new and different for voters.”

Speaking to the media on Wednesday after officially submitting his candidacy, Panayiotou, who commonly goes by his first name, also said he understands that it is still difficult for people to trust him.

“However, we need change, otherwise we will remain stagnant, as we have for so many years,” he said, adding that he chose to run as an independent candidate because “he cannot fit into moulds and because he has no party interests to serve.”

“I am tired of politicians serving only their personal interests or, at best, the interests of their party, while ignoring the interests of society,” he said.

“We always hear pre-election promises that are never fulfilled, since politicians do not understand the most significant developments of humanity such as artificial intelligence, the world of social media, and modern forms of economy, such as cryptocurrencies.”

Fidias has over five million subscribers across his social media platforms, having begun posting videos on YouTube in 2019.

He became famous on the platform for a number of outlandish stunts, including embarking on a mission to hug Elon Musk. He garnered controversy late last year after attempting to travel across Japan while not paying for his transport and begging for cash.

He announced his candidacy in a video posted on TikTok last January.