An eight-year-old Syrian girl who drew global attention with her Twitter updates from besieged Aleppo was on Monday (June 26) named one of the most influential people on the internet by Time Magazine.
Helped by her mother Fatemah, who manages the @AlabedBana Twitter account, Bana Alabed uploaded pictures and videos of life amidst the Syrian war, gaining around 365,000 followers on the micro-blogging site since last September.
Last December, Bana, who was seven at the time, and her family were evacuated safely from the rebel-held eastern part of Aleppo to Turkey, where they were greeted by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan at his palace.
Time makes its annual choice based on those with global influence on social media and in generating news headlines.
REUTERS