--- description: Find out why Felipe Neto is one of the 100 most influential people of 2020. title: Felipe Neto: The 100 Most Influential People of 2020 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ccbabf054908d85/698a125122fb85fa7de2b6c6/time-100-Felipe-Neto.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 22, 2020 # Felipe Neto by David Miranda  Handout picture released by the Felipe Neto Press office showing Brazilian YouTuber Felipe Neto, 31, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 09, 2019\. - Neto, one of the most popular youtubers in Brazil, claims to be receiving "all kind" of threats, including death ones, since supporting the LGBT cause at the Book Biennial in Rio de Janeiro last month. (Photo by HO / PLAY9 / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO-PLAY9 " - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTSHO/AFP/Getty Images Handout picture released by the Felipe Neto Press office showing Brazilian YouTuber Felipe Neto, 31, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 09, 2019\. - Neto, one of the most popular youtubers in Brazil, claims to be receiving "all kind" of threats, including death ones, since supporting the LGBT cause at the Book Biennial in Rio de Janeiro last month. (Photo by HO / PLAY9 / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO-PLAY9 " - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTSHO/AFP/Getty ImagesAFP/Getty Images With [39 million YouTube subscribers](https://www.youtube.com/user/felipeneto "undefined") and [12 million Twitter followers](https://twitter.com/felipeneto?lang=en "undefined"), Felipe Neto, 32, is the most consequential digital influencer in Brazil, possibly in the world. Neto’s online dominance is not new. A decade ago, from his family’s humble Rio de Janeiro home, he began creating content for YouTube and quickly found fame, a huge and loyal young audience, and lucrative endorsements. What has changed—­radically—is how Neto uses his platform. His early notoriety was generated by standard fare for online adolescents: video games, celebrities and girls. But with the 2018 election of far-right [President Jair Bolsonaro](https://time.com/5375731/jair-bolsonaro/ "undefined") and the empowerment of his proto-fascist movement, Neto, risking his brand and safety, repurposed his popularity to become one of Bolsonaro’s most effective opponents. Neto meets Bolsonaro on the very social-media platforms the President deftly navigated to disseminate false information and gain followers during his election. In May, Neto’s video denouncing fellow influencers who remain silent about [Bolsonaro’s authoritarianism](https://time.com/5829773/jair-bolsonaro-coronavirus-corruption/ "undefined") was viewed by millions. In July, he detailed how Bolsonaro has been [the world’s most destructive leader in the COVID-19 pandemic](https://time.com/5840208/brazil-coronavirus/ "undefined") in a video for the New York _Times_. The Bolsonaro family has often responded to him on social media, sometimes later deleting their posts. Neto’s first major involvement in politics, in 2016, was a misguided protest against former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s center-left Workers’ Party. His trajectory reflects a vital truth, which I, as a socialist Congressman, emphasize to the left: we should embrace and nourish the ability of humans to grow and evolve rather than writing them off for past transgressions. When Felipe Neto speaks, millions listen. And his now righteous politicized voice powerfully resonates in a country whose democracy is imperiled. _Miranda is a Brazilian Congressman representing Rio de Janeiro_ Felipe Neto Is on the 2020 TIME 100 List ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888282/felipe-neto/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888282/felipe-neto/"},"headline":"Felipe Neto","datePublished":"2020-09-22T22:10:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:22:16.788Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888282/felipe-neto/","keywords":["TIME 100","T100 2020","T100 2020 Icons"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ccbabf054908d85/698a125122fb85fa7de2b6c6/time-100-Felipe-Neto.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ccbabf054908d85/698a125122fb85fa7de2b6c6/time-100-Felipe-Neto.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888282/felipe-neto/","name":"Felipe Neto"}}]}] ```