Will Smith, Issa Rae Among Winners of the 2019 WEBBY AWARDS

Steph Curry, Ellen DeGeneres, The Walking Dead, Ryan Reynolds, Chance the Rapper, and Monica Lewinsky are among the winners of The 23rd Annual Webby Awards.This year's Winners will be recognized alongside Special Achievement honorees, including trailblazerGreta Thunberg, actor Issa Rae, Glossier founderEmily Weiss, artist Tierra Whack, and host and creator Hasan Minhaj.

Webby Winners are selected by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences; members include Lyft CEO Logan Green, Girls Who Code Founder Reshma Saujani, Twitter Founder Biz Stone, actor and activist Jesse Williams, GE CMO Linda Boff, Pod Save the People host and activist DeRay Mckesson, and Rent the Runway Founder Jenn Hyman, among others. Three million votes were cast from Internet fans in more than 240 countries and territories around the world to choose the Winners of the Webby People's Voice Awards.

Hosted by actress and comedian Jenny Slate, The Webby Awards' star-studded ceremony will take place in New York City on Monday, May 13, and will celebrate the best work on the Internet. Fans can follow and watch show highlights including a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Internet with Internet co-founder Vint Cerf, and hallmark 5-Word Speeches from the night's big winners, on May 13th, at #Webbys on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

The Webby Awards will once again honor a group of individuals for their outstanding work on the Internet this year with Special Achievement Awards. They join the ranks of previous Special Achievement Winners like Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Prince, Solange, Jessica Alba, and Black Lives Matter. This year's Special Achievement Winners are:

· Webby Video Person of the Year: Issa Rae for her groundbreaking work with her production house Issa Rae Productions and her ingenious use of the Internet to showcase breakthrough content from diverse creators.

· Webby Social Movement of the Year, accepted by Greta Thunberg for igniting the #FridaysForFuture global movement for climate justice led by youth activists, and for using the Internet to draw the world's attention to the urgent issue of climate change.

· Webby Artist of the Year: Tierra Whack for making brilliant use of Instagram's 60-second video limit to create experimental, genre-bending, and imaginative art with her debut album "Whack World" laced with high caliber music and expert art direction.

· Webby Special Achievement: Hasan Minhajfor his outstanding work with his Netflix series "Patriot Act." Where others have struggled to make talk shows succeed on streaming, "Patriot Act" is a dynamic, fast-paced, super-Internetty, funny, deep, and informative show and one of the most exciting recent additions to Netflix.

· Webby Entrepreneur of the Year: Emily Weissfor her incredible success using the Internet to create the people-powered, direct-to-consumer company Glossier. A one-time blog now named a Unicorn for its $1.2 billion valuation, Glossier-with Weiss at the helm-has made community engagement core to what the company creates.

The Academy also announced Disney as the WebbyMedia Company of the Year, for earning the most honors across all Webby categories and an impressive 32 wins overall. VICE, Warner Media, and Conde Nast were among those in close contention for Webby Media Company of the Year.

The 23rd Annual Webby Award Winner highlights include:

· The New Yorker won the Webby Award and Webby People's Voice Award for Magazine (Websites)

· The Carter III Anniversary by Spotify won the Webby Award for Celebrity/Fan (Social)

· NASA won the Webby Award for Best Overall Social Presence - Brand (Social)

· This Is America won the Webby Award and Webby People's Voice Award for Music Video (Video)

· HBO Westworld: The Maze won the Webby People's Voice Award for Best Use of Machine Learning (Advertising)

· Gritty won the Webby Award and Webby People's Voice Award for Athletes & Sports Teams (Social)

· Girls Who Code - Sisterh>>d Campaign won the Webby People's Voice Award for Public Service and Activism (Social)

· Kesha "I Need A Woman" won the Webby People's Voice Award for Best Editing (Video)

· Patagonia Action Works won the Webby People's Voice Award for Corporate Social Responsibility (Websites)

· The Guardian app for iOS and Android won the Webby Award for News & Magazines (Apps, Mobile Sites, and Voice)

· Headspace for Alexa won the Webby Award for Health, Fitness & Lifestyle (Voice)

· Fortnite won the Webby Award for Best Multiplayer/Competitive Games (Games)

· Will Smith: The Jump won the Webby Award for Events & Live Streams (Video)

· Serial won the Webby People's Voice Award for Best Series (Podcasts)

· National Geographic's First Ever 3D VR Filmed in Space won the Webby People's Voice Award for Best Narrative Experience (Video)

· Slate Magazine's Slow Burn Season 2 won the Webby Award for Best Podcast Series for (Podcasts)

· The Bleacher Report App won the Webby Award for Sports (Apps, Mobile, and Voice)

· The Walking Dead: Our World won the Webby Award for Best Use of Augmented Reality (Games)

· Marvel Unlimited won the Webby People's Voice Award for Entertainment (Apps, Mobile, and Voice)

· Stephen Curry's '5 Minutes From Home' Series won the Webby Award for Best Web Personality/Host (Video)

· Undercover Lyft with Chance the Rapper won the Webby Award for Branded Entertainment Viral (Video)

· Billy on the Street with Emma Stone won the Webby People's Voice Award for Comedy: Longform (Video)

· THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW won the Webby People's Voice Award for Celebrity/Fan (Social)

· Deadpool The Musical 2 won the Webby Award for Best Writing (Performance & Craft)

· Team Coco won the Webby Award for Comedy for Conan Helps His Assistant Buy a Car(Video)

· BBDO New York's Monica Lewinsky - #DefyTheName campaign won the Webby Award for Best Influencer Endorsements (Advertising)

· The Verge won the Webby Award for Science & Education (Video)

· THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON won the Webby Award and Webby People's Voice Award for Best Overall Social Presence - Media/Entertainment (Social)

· CBS Interactive's James Corden's Next James Corden won the Webby Award for Best Individual Performance (Video)

· THE DAILY SHOW Presents: The Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library won the Webby Award and Webby People's Voice Award for Humor (Websites)

· CNN's Anthony Bourdain's Explore Parts Unknown: Little LA won the Webby Award for Travel & Lifestyle (Video)

· Pod Save the People won the Webby Award for Best Host (Podcasts)

· Jimmy Kimmel Live's Mean Tweets - Avengers Edition won the Webby People's Voice Award for Comedy: Shortform (Video)

· Spotify In-House's Tha Carter III Anniversarywon the Webby Award for Celebrity/Fan (Social)

· Schitt's Creek Social Media won the Webby Award and Webby People's Voice Award for Television & Film (Social)

· GrandSon Creative's A Star Is Born trailerwon the Webby Award for Trailer (Video)

· Astroneer won the Webby Award for Adventure (Games)

Winners of multiple Webby Awards this year include:

· National Geographic (17): Education & Discovery (Social), Sports (Video), Best Photography & Graphics (Social), Best User Experience (Apps Mobile, and Voice), Best Data Visualization (Websites)

· Google (14): Technical Achievement (Apps, Mobile, and Voice), Best User Interface (Websites), Media & Entertainment (Advertising, Media, & PR), Productivity (Apps, Mobile, and Voice)

· Vice (11): News and Politics (Social), Technology (Video), Weird (Video), Food & Drink (Websites)

· Conde Nast (11): Variety (Video), Food & Drink (Social), Magazine (Websites), Best Branded Editorial Experience (Advertising, Media & PR)

· HBO (9): Sports (Social), Best Streaming Service (Apps, Mobile, and Voice), Best Interaction Design (Video)

The Webby Awards will take place on Monday, May 13, 2019, at Cipriani Wall Street. Fans can follow the action and watch show highlights, special moments, and hallmark 5-Word Speeches from the night's big Winners at #Webbys on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

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