These candidates who won seats in the European Parliament this week aren't who you might expect
Social media influencers and candidates in jail have won seats in the powerful European Parliament, with social media playing an outsized role in many elections
LONDON (AP) — He has no political experience. No high-profile endorsements. No party affiliation.
What Fidias Panayiotou does have is 2.6 million followers on YouTube and more on TikTok. And now he has won a seat in the European Parliament representing Cyprus, one of several unusual candidates who launched improbable campaigns only to snag membership in the 720-seat legislature.
"I wasn’t planning on voting, but since I’ve been seeing you on TikTok, I’ll vote for you,” said a driver Panayioutou stops, interviews and posts about.
Social media played an outsized role in the victories of a few candidates, prompting chatter in the political classes about its apparent role as an equalizer for unknown hopefuls as voters in dozens of democracies go to the polls this year, including in Britain, France and the United States.
