“Open letter to all the young people who follow me.” This is how Squeezie began his Instagram post published on Friday, where he explains to his 8 million subscribers why we must vote against the far right in the next legislative elections. The 28-year-old star YouTuber was very clear, I quote “I think that firmly opposing an extreme ideology that advocates hatred and discrimination goes beyond taking any political position.” Result: almost 2 million likes on his publication and he closed many mouths who said he was incapable of taking a position on the networks.
And if for some boomers this message may seem anecdotal, that is far from being the case. Because Squeezie is not for just anyone. It is aimed at a part of French youth. The one who abstained 54% from voting in the last elections, and who feels abandoned by the political sphere. And we must not minimize the impact that the YouTuber has today on this audience. In fact, this was true all weekend.
To view this Instagram content you must accept cookies Social Networks.
These cookies allow you to share or react directly on the social networks to which you are connected or to integrate content initially posted on these social networks. They also allow social networks to use your visits to our sites and applications for personalization and advertising targeting purposes.
Manage my choices I authorize
Jordan Bardella himself was quick to respond to him on Instagram a few hours later. The president of the RN used exactly the same color code and the same layout as Squeezie. I’ll spare you the details, but basically he accuses influencers of playing the France Insoumise game, and he attacks Squeezie, wondering if he did that because Tibo In Shape dubbed him on Youtube. Besides, this is the big question that invaded the networks after Squeezie’s message: and Tibo In shape in all of this? The sports content creator has become the leading YouTuber in France, and the public is holding him to account. Especially since for many, Tibo would have very conservative ideas which recall the ideology of the RN. So, he also posted a message on his networks, I’ll read you an excerpt “You are old enough to vote and therefore to make your own choices in accordance with your convictions, your needs and your beliefs”. Translation: the YouTuber prefers to remain neutral.
Result: Tibo has just exceeded 20 million subscribers on YouTube. And Squeezie lost 100,000. On paper it seems a lot, but compared to its 18.9 million subscribers, it represents barely 0.5%.
Followers are the livelihood of content creators. This is why many of them generally avoid taking potentially divisive positions that might displease. But Squeezie always said good luck to his followers who did not recognize themselves in his words. I think it’s the same today.
In any case, his position allowed many public figures to speak out, in particular stars very popular with young people. They reposted Squeezie’s open letter as a story to encourage their subscribers to block the RN. This is particularly the case of Mcfly and Carlito, Pierre Niney, Adèle Exarcopoulos, Angèle, François Civil, Mayadorable and even Squeezie’s former friend… Cyprien. A non-exhaustive list.
He managed to bring together the crowds and this once again shows his current power. And then he is not the only content creator to have positioned himself against the RN. Lena Mahfouf was one of the first to encourage her subscribers to vote. This weekend, she also posted certain racist messages that she received to show the violence of the rise of extremes on the networks. Mister V also encouraged his subscribers to vote against, I quote, the “shit faps”. 60 influencers and artists also co-signed a forum in the new obs to mobilize against the RN. Among them, Hugo Tout Seul, Enora Malagré, Pomme or even Camille Aumont Carnel from the Insta account I don’t care about the clit we received here.
In 2004, the youth idol Diams sang his hatred against the national front in songs that have become cult, today it no longer happens only in music, but also via Instagram posts. The weapons evolve but the message remains the same.
