The official UKIP Twitter account has declared its support for PewDiePie and has urged its followers to give their likes to the gamer to prevent the widely popular Indian company T-Series from grabbing the top spot:
“Are you doing your part? Help protect freedom of speech on the internet by sharing and signing this petition against the EU Copyright Directive", the right-wing party started by bringing up the EU’s copyright rules now in the making.
“Also, don’t forget to subscribe to @pewdiepie on YouTube and keep the corporate @TSeries from the top", UKIP continued.
It further explained the connection between the two points made above, saying the British party is leading the charge against the EU Copyright Directive. “Internet memes are the frontline of the culture war and the establishment know it", it stated, adding the right-wingers “stand with @PrisonPlanet, @not_sargon, @CountDankulaTV, @pewdiepie and all YouTube creators".
The alliance appears to have raised quite a few questions on Twitter, although many openly applauded the gesture:
What a strange alliance.
— R Chan (@ConundrumDeathA) 20 января 2019 г.
why is this happening
— Germiili (@Germiili) 22 января 2019 г.
Epic
— XD (@chimado21) 22 января 2019 г.
I couldnt agree more. But honestly to me this isn't just a meme. It is a fight between individual creators and companies ruling over Youtube. And PewDiePie is a sign of hope that you dont have to have a company to be on top but if T-Series wins that hope goes away.
— SubscribeToPewDiePie! (@AlIsTaken00) 21 января 2019 г.
You absolute boomers
— Caleb Rule (@RuleCaleb) 20 января 2019 г.
One, however, couldn’t deny quite a bit of irony in the right-wing politicians backing “a Swedish migrant":
Is it ironic for UKIP to be supporting a Swedish migrant idk
— Jamie Mountain (@DevilsMountain) 21 января 2019 г.
@lansior UKIP recruiting for pewdiepie 😄
— Botond Hamori (@HamoriBotond) 20 января 2019 г.
For some, UKIP’s move won them a bit more approval than their policies, while others merely stated the fact of politics entering the YouTube world.
Wow UKIP very cool. Completely disagree with your politics but very very cool.
— Nathan (@yeetmas2019) 21 января 2019 г.
UKIP’s post came after PewDiePie launched a massive online campaign urging fans to “save the internet” as he kickstarted a fight against Article 13, the European bloc’s new regulation, dubbed “the meme ban” that is set to crack down on copyright infringements.
The Swedish gamer, aka Felix Kjellberg, tweeted a link to a petition captioning it in a very emotional way: “200,000 signatures as of yesterday, very epic! KEEP SIGNING THIS PETITION!”
The campaign countering the Copyright Directive, which will give publishers the right to demand money from web platforms if parts of their articles pop up in news search results or reposts, has been launched amidst a fierce battle between Felix and Indian music company T-Series.
READ MORE: PewDiePie Slams Soulja Boy Over Sony Gaming Console Ripoff
A million-strong gap in the number of their subscribers has recently narrowed down, with T-Series rapidly closing in with merely 100,000 fans fewer than Felix. With the gamer having accrued nearly 82 million likes on YouTube, he shows no sign of slowing down, as fans eagerly give him backing as an individual creator, rather than a company pursuing commercial interests.
