Who is Fidias Panayiotou, the YouTube prankster voted in as Member of European Parliament?

Fidias Panayiotou, a 24-year-old YouTube prankster, who once drew flak for travelling for free in the Bengaluru Metro,  has defied political norms and won a seat in the European Parliament representing Cyprus.

Panayiotou, who has no prior political experience or party affiliation, emerged victorious in the recent Cypriot elections, securing almost a fifth of the votes and ranking third behind the centre-right DISY party and the communist-rooted AKEL.

His election, fueled only by his popularity on social media posts, shook up the island nation’s political class in what many saw as a snub to deep-rooted party culture.

Here’s what we know about him

📌  The 24-year-old, who once called himself, a “professional mistake maker”, has more than 2.6 million subscribers on on YouTube and more on TikTok.
📌   Some of his online hijinks include trying to hug 100 celebrities — including Elon Musk — and spending a week in a coffin.
📌  He had once posted a video that showed him traveling for free on the Bengaluru Metro. “I will teach you how to get the metro in India for free,” he had said at the beginning of the video before asking a couple of commuters if he would be able to do it.
📌 In 2023, Panayiotou was forced to apologise after he caused outrage in Japan for a YouTube video in which he dodged train fares and a five-star hotel breakfast bill. The clip, which racked up millions of views, saw him travel across Japan on its famed bullet train, while dodging fares by hiding in toilets and feigning illness.
📌 Appearing on Cypriot TV, Alpha Cyprus, where he wore trainers, shorts, a suit jacket and three neckties – he admitted that he had never voted, knew little about politics and the EU, but that he could no longer stand the continued rule of “nerds” in Brussels.
📌 When Panayiotou submitted his candidacy in April, he admitted that his goal was not to get elected but to motivate young people to get involved in politics.
📌 Turnout in Cyprus was at just under 59% – up from 45% in the 2019 elections, with analysts attributing the rise in part to the “Fidias factor”.
📌 According analysis of exit poll data by news site Philenews, Panayiotou won 40% of the votes from the 18-24 age group and 28% of votes from the 25-34 group.