TIME just released its second annual summary of the most influential people on the Internet. Contenders are sized up “by looking at their global impact on social media and their overall ability to drive news.
Kanye West tops the list at number 1—no big shock there. He’s perfected the craft of the “Twitter spree.” West puts himself as the center of attention with his controversial, provocative tweets. While releasing a surprise album is slowly becoming the new norm, West shook things up by releasing The Life of Pablo as a work in progress, so to speak, only available on Tidal with a TBD final version.
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DJ Khaled – As one of Snapchat’s biggest stars, Khaled comes in at number 6. After only being on the platform for 5 months, he’s drawn in over 20 million followers with the infamous catchphrase “major keys to success.” He’s also starred in a video promoting ObamaCare as one of his major keys to success.
Johnetta Elzie & DeRay Mckesson trail right behind DJ Khaled at number 7. Both the founders of WeTheProtest.org, the two are attributed to shaping the #BlackLivesMatter movement after gaining national attention for live-tweeting the 2014 events in Ferguson, Missouri. They’ve obtained an audience of more than 400,000 people on Twitter.
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Angie Nwandu makes the list at 20. Nwandu is who we have to thank for The Shade Room, an Instagram account and blog that monitors celebrities on social media – “a chronicle of who likes whose posts, who comments on whose photos, and who starts following (or better yet, unfollowing) each other-” because the shade is so real! The Shade Room serves an audience of 3.9 million.
Andrew Bachelor, also known as King Bach, comes in at number 21 for his reputation on Vine. He commands an astounding 15 million followers with what can only be described as “relatable comedy.” His talent did not go unnoticed by casting directors. He landed his first major TV role on Showtime’s “House of Lies” and will be adding four feature films under his belt this year.
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Kim Kardashian West joins the list with her hubby at number 24. The reality star has captivated the attention of over 120 million followers across Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. She recently made headlines posting (and then defending) a nude selfie, and this past year launched Kimoji.
Drake comes in at 26 for the countless memes, gifs and spoofs that followed “Hotline Bling.” And let’s not forget his beef with Meek Mill. During a performance, Drake used fan-made images to taunt Meek.
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