Influencer Aida Diouf Mbengue holds up her phone as she stands in an empty square in front of the Duomo gothic cathedral in Milan, Italy. Photos: AP Photo/Antonio Calanni
In Milan’s chic Victor Emmanuel II Gallery, a spacious mall that would be jammed with shoppers were it not for the pandemic, a young Black woman wearing a violet hijab and matching lipstick propped up her phone and moved her hips to a tinny-sounding beat coming from the device.
Aida Diouf Mbengue, 19, was recording a TikTok video to share with her 330,000 followers. She is making a name for herself as a self-styled "Afro-influencer, ” one of a group of young people of African origin who have come together in Italy to try to increase their social media clout.
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