11 Influential Arab American Social Media Influencers
By: Udochi Esomonu/Arab America Contributing Writer
As time progresses and technology advances, the internet, specifically through social media, has become a platform for many to explore and to share their interests and talents with others. Many of the most influential social media influencers are of Arab-American descent and have taken advantage of platforms to share their own talents and skills on Youtube and by blogging.
Huda Kattan
Huda Kattan is an Iraqi-American makeup artist, beauty blogger, and entrepreneur. In 2010, Kattan, inspired by her sisters, started a beauty blog on WordPress which she named “Huda Beauty”. In 2013, Kattan founded a cosmetic line,Huda Beauty which was named after her beauty blog. Huda Beauty is based in DubaiHer company began only producing and selling eyelashes, but has expanded to other beauty products such as eyeliners and eyeshadows. Kattan was declared “one of the most powerful influencers in the world of beauty” by Forbes magazine, and was chosen as one of “The 25 Most Influential People on the Internet” by Time’s magazine in 2015. As of this year, she has announced the premiere of her reality series, ‘Huda Boss’ on Facebook Watch. The reality series will follow herself and her family in their daily lives of running the family business, “Huda Beauty”.
Yousef Erakat
Yousef Erakat, better known as his stage name, FouseyTube, is a Palestinian-American Youtube personality, vlogger, comedian, actor, and rapper. He is known for producing pranks and comedy sketches on his Youtube channel. In June 2017, he officially reached the Youtube Milestone of 10 million subscribers, earning him a Youtube DIamond Play Button, which recognizes videos of the highest quality. Erakat was raised in a religious Muslim family and has, on several occasions, on his professional and personal platforms, has criticized negative stereotyping of Muslims.
Mona Kattan
Mona Kattan, the sister of Huda Kattan, is an Iraqi-American makeup artist, beauty blogger, and entrepreneur. Alongside her sister, Huda, she is the creator of the top Middle Eastern beauty blog and beauty brand: Huda Beauty. In 2012, she became the co-founder and managing partner of the full service beauty salon: The Dollhouse.
Adam Saleh
Adam Saleh is a Yemeni-American who is best known for being a prankster on Youtube. He uses his Youtube Channel as a comedic platform, where he plays a number of pranks on individuals. He has reached over 2 million subscribers on his channel. Apart from his main channel, he also has a Vlog Youtube Channel, where he records and produces vlogs for his subscribers, which has reached over 4 million subscribers, seeking similar success to his main channel.
Emily Ann Shaheen
Emily Ann Shaheen is a Palestinian-American lifestyle and beauty influencer on Youtube. She uses her Youtube channel to explore her own beauty routines–skin care, makeup tutorials, and makeup product reviews. As of now, she has over 15,000 subscribers on her Youtube channel. Apart from maintaining her Youtube channel, she is a full-time college student. She also uses her channel to actively speak about her Palestinian heritage, which she proudly speaks on.
Noor Stars
Noor Naim, known by her stage name Noor Stars, is in Iraqi-American lifestyle, fashion, and beauty influencer on Youtube. She uses her Youtube channel to produce a mixture of vlogs, comedic skits, beauty tips and skills, and more. She has reached over 7 million subscribers on Youtube, with her following being majority Arab. She uses Arabic on her channel as a way to continue to celebrate her Arab heritage.
Karim Metwaly
Karim Metwaly, also known by his stage names, Are We Famous Now and Karim Jovian, is an Egyptian-American vlogger and prankster on Youtube. He uses his Youtube channel. He uses his channel to create a diversity of content, from song parodies to social experiments. Metwaly was raised in a Muslim household which he actively speaks about on his channel. He is known for creating parodies and comedic videos about Muslims. has reached over 1 million subscribers on his channel, allowing him to reach millions of people around the world with his content. Apart from his main channel, Are We Famous Now, he has two other Youtube channels which he uses: AreWeKukuNow and KukuBUFF which have seen similar success.
Issa Tweimeh
Issa Tweimeh, also known by his stage name, Twaimz, is a Palestinian-American social media personality, influencer, and creator on Youtube. Tweimeh began his social media career on the famous app Vine, which produced six-second videos which were usually comedic. On his Youtube channel, he makes comedic videos centered around his identity and pop culture. He has reached over 3 million subscribers on his channel, which has allowed him to remain the successful and influential social media personality that he is today.
Nura Afia
Nura Afia is a Lebanese-American beauty vlogger on Youtube. In 2016, CoverGirl cosmetics named her one of its brand ambassadors. Afia is the only CoverGirl cosmetics ambassador who wears a hijab. With her choice to model in her hijab, she has received a lot of support from fellow Muslim women. Her interest in beauty began back in 2011, when she began watching beauty videos online. Due to that, she was inspired to begin her own beauty channel on Youtube. Today, she posts beauty videos on her channel and has gained more than 225,000 subscribers.
Subhi Taha
Subhi Taha is a Palestinian-American fashion designer, blogger, social media influencer, and content creator on Youtube. He is well known for his self-titled clothing line which is greatly influenced by Islam. His faith-based clothing designs have become widely known as Islamicwear. He first began his career as a content creator on Youtube. On his Youtube channel, he began creating videos about life as a Muslim Arab-American. His most famous Youtube video, “Stuff Arabs Dad Say”, went viral overnight.
Faiza Rammuny
Faiza Rummuny is a Palestinian-American relationship guru, comedian, blogger, and Instagram influencer. She is known for bridging together he love for providing relationship advice and her Arab background. Rummuny began her career by creating a blog, Expired N Fabolous, in which she posted videos, podcasts, and more, documenting her personal journeys. Her goal,with her blog, is to post content regarding dealing with breakups and broken hears. She found that the more she posted such content, which are topics that are often taboo in the Arab American community, the more that her own audience grew. She continues to produce content that many continue to support today!
