Modi, Trump on TIME's list of 30 most influential people on the Internet

Candidates are chosen based on factors like social-media followings, site traffic, and overall news ability

Given their popularity and ability to drive news, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump have made it to Time magazine's list of the most influential people on the internet.

Based on factors like social-media followings, site traffic, and the overall ability to remain on headlines, the magazine has drawn out a list of the top 30 people who rise above the rest.



Here are a few of the influential people on the list:

Narendra Modi

The Indian prime minister and an internet star, has over 18 million followers on Twitter and over 32 million likes on his Facebook page. This is the second time in two years that the premier secured a spot on the list.

As opposed to his contemporaries, Modi relies on social media to reach out to not only Indians but everyone across the globe. Twitter exploded on December 25 when Modi took to the social media platform bypassing traditional media outlets to announce that he would visit his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif to wish him on his birthday.

Donald Trump

The US Republican candidate has played a major role in changing how political candidates use social media, for better and for worse. There have been several instances where the presidential frontrunner picked Twitter to ridicule his rivals and slap insults.



Trump, who has about 7 million followers on Twitter, chose the platform to call Megyn Kelly a 'bimbo,' for example, and Marco Rubio 'Little Marco.'

Cristiano Ronaldo

With fans around the world, Real Madrid star striker Cristiano Ronaldo also secured a spot on the list of 30 most influential people on the internet.

Though the star player isn't as active on social media as some of his contemporaries, with around 110 million followers, he is undoubtedly the king of Facebook. According to Forbes, Ronaldo is the most popular athlete on social media. He is also only the third celebrity to reach 200 million combined followers across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, joining previous Time listees Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber.

JK Rowling

JK Rowling, author of the much loved Harry Potter series has taken the internet by storm with her constant tweets and updates on her website Pottermore. The author who has about 7 million followers on Twitter, uses the platform to expand the Harry Potter universe to its fans.



Caitlyn Jenner

With the announcement of coming out as a woman last year, reality star and former Olympic athlete Caitlyn Jenner instantly rose to fame and became the most popular transgender person in the world as well as on social media.

Kim Kardashian

Unlike several other celebrities, Kim Kardashian West is not only on Facebook and Twitter. With over 120 million followers on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, the reality TV star is one of the most-watched people in the world.