What do Hong Kong’s extradition bill protesters have in common with Donald Trump, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and BTS? Why, they’re all among the “Most Influential People on the Internet,” of course!
The list of 25 people and groups, curated by TIME Magazine and now in its fifth year, “evaluated contenders by looking at their global impact on social media and their overall ability to drive news.”
The magazine awarded the accolade to the leaderless army of anti-extradition bill protesters, citing the use of messaging board LIHKG and secure messaging app Telegram to allow protesters to organize, mobilize, and stay both “active and anonymous.”
“Other aspects of the demonstrations are also coordinated online, including relaying reminders of upcoming protests, sharing legal aid resources and, more recently, offering counseling services and emotional support,” TIME said.
Hong Kong’s campaigners were not the only protest movement on the list; children around who took part in school strikes to call for action on climate change were also included. The movement, which was inspired by Swedish teen and activist Greta Thunberg, also paid a visit to our very own SAR back in March, when more than a hundred students in Hong Kong skipped a day of classes to take part.
The TIME Magazine nod puts the Hong Kong protesters in the company of politicians, celebrities, and (shudder) internet influencers who have made headlines in the past year for such varied and worthy reasons as conducting scorched-earth feuds in the YouTube make-up artist community, promoting a photograph of an egg, or just having a famous mom who favors pillbox hats.
Other (slightly more accomplished) people to make the list included US Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (perhaps better known by her nomme de tweet, AOC), Grammy-winning hit-machines Ariana Grande and Cardi B, and the progressive healthcare activist Ady Barkan.
