Time Names HK Protesters As Top Online Influencers

The US news magazine Time has named Hong Kong's protesters among its 25 most influential people on the internet, putting the movement alongside the likes of US President Donald Trump, Korean boy-band BTS and Britain's Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

The magazine said the "movement to preserve Hong Kong's freedoms" was "leaderless by design" but protesters put online platforms to effective use to help them "stay both active and anonymous".

It said users of the popular online forum LIHKG and the secure messaging app Telegram had been "tied to everything from a march past foreign consulates to a siege of police headquarters".

"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," it wrote.

The list, which is not ranked, is now in its fifth year. The magazine said it "evaluated contenders by looking at their global impact on social media and their overall ability to drive news".

Hong Kong's campaigners were not the only protest movement on the list; children who took part in school strikes to call for action on climate change, influence by the Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, were also included.

While the list was dominated by figures from the West, it also included Zhang Dayi, a mainland influencer and e-commerce mogul.