BTS, Oprah Winfrey, Riz Ahmed and Dr Fauci among 2021 Webby Awards winners

The annual awards show, now in its 25th year, recognises the best internet content and creators

From left: Dua Lipa, Dr Anthony Fauci, Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, who are among the winners at the 2021 Webby Awards, which recognises the best internet content and creators. AP

K-pop group BTS, media mogul Oprah Winfrey, actor Riz Ahmed and American scientist and immunologist Dr Anthony Fauci were among the winners of this year's Webby Awards, which recognise the internet's best content and creators.

The 25th iteration of the annual awards, held on Tuesday and hosted by actor and activist Jameela Jamil, also honoured Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, filmmaker Ava DuVernay and Stop AAPI Hate – the non-profit that tracks incidents of hate and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the US.

When accepting the awards, winners are traditionally required to give five-word acceptance speeches.

Webbys winners are selected by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences and also by an online voting public for The Webby People's Voice Awards. The IADAS has a 2,000-strong membership body, including internet luminaries such as Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, Black Lives Matter co-founder Opal Tometi, Instagram's head of fashion partnerships Eva Chen and internet co-inventor Vint Cerf.

The winners were chosen out of 13,500 entries from 70 countries, according to the Webbys.

Record-breaking K-pop group BTS won several awards, including the People's Voice Award for Variety and Reality for their Carpool Karaoke segment on The Late Late Show With James Corden, as well as for music for their Map of the Soul ON:E virtual concert.

Ahmed won for his role in the Oscar-nominated film Sound of Metal, while actress Andra Day won for her performance in The United States vs Billie Holiday.

The Rock’s use of social media earned him a special achievement award, while chef Jose Andres was recognised for tackling food insecurity.

Other winners include Oprah's Book Club, actress Kristen Bell for her The Motherly Podcast, chef Gordon Ramsay's social content and actress Jennifer Garner, also for her social media content.

Dua Lipa earned two video awards for the song Hallucinate and for her Dua Lipa Has New Rules for Covid Dating video.

Social movement #JusticeForFloyd was honoured with the Public Service & Activism award, while Stop AAPI Hate was named the Webby Social Movement of the Year.

Dr Fauci, who serves as the chief medical adviser to the US president, was named the Webby Person of the Year for using digital and social media to reach the masses with credible and factual Covid-19 information.

Filmmaker DuVernay won the Film and Video Person of the Year trophy for her efforts in creating a database to diversify Hollywood, while musician Pharrell Williams was presented with the inaugural Webby Anthem Award, for his work towards racial equity in education and entrepreneurship.

black-ish and grown-ish star Yara Shahidi was also honoured with Webby Advocate of the Year, for her social justice advocacy and her initiative that encouraged young people to vote.

“The way that people have used the internet has accelerated so much this year that it will be interesting to see how people continue to use the new technology,” said Claire Graves, president of The Webby Awards. “The internet is not stopping. It’s going to continue to grow and develop.”

Notable winners at the Webby Awards 2021:

• Webby People's Voice Award for Science & Education, General Series (Podcasts): StarTalk With Neil deGrasse Tyson
• Webby Award for Entertainment, General Mobile & OTT Apps (Apps and Software): HBO Max
• Webby People's Voice Award for Scripted Fiction, Limited-Series & Specials (Podcasts): The Daily Show Podcast Universe
• Webby Award and the Webby People's Voice Award for Events & Livestreams, Social Content Series & Campaigns (Social): Hamilton – Twitter Watch Party
• Webby Award and the Webby People's Voice Award for Best Overall Social Presence – Brand, Features (Social): Nasa
• Webby Awards for Celebrity/Fan, General Social (Social) and Entertainment, General Social (Social): The Late Late Show With James Corden
• The Webby People's Voice Award for Best Overall Social, Features (Social): The Daily Show
• Webby People's Voice Award for Events & Live Streaming, Social Video (Video): 2020 MTV Video Music Awards
• Webby Award and Webby People's Voice Award for Comedy, Branded Entertainment (Video): Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
• Webby People's Voice Award for Best Use of Animation or Motion Graphics, Features & Design (Websites and Mobile Sites): iPad Air
• Webby People's Voice Award for Best Visual Design – Aesthetic, Features & Design (Websites and Mobile Sites): iPhone 12

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