‘Likes’ do not translate into votes

You can't avoid vertigo if you put the latest opinion polls and the social media influence of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the leader of the main opposition, Stefanos Kasselakis, side by side.

If one looks at the voters' preferences (a 15% lead for ruling New Democracy over SYRIZA), one wonders what kind of black hole swallowed the thousands of followers of the latter. What's more, if we focus on the question of who is "most suitable for prime minister," we are faced with a wide gap (36% for Mitsotakis, versus 12% for Kasselakis, while "none" wins second place with 22%).

In the realm of "likes" and "views," facts are open to different readings. On social media, and especially on TikTok, the prime minister and the leader of SYRIZA are in close proximity. We don't focus so much on the number of followers or who is first on Facebook - which is for...