Angelina Jolie has officially joined Instagram and quickly rose to the ranks of the platforms’ most heralded accounts. Joining on August 20, the star-studded actress’ first post was a heart-rending call to action for Afghanistan’s state of tumult. Garnering traction with her star power and the global concern for human rights, Jolie became the fastest user to reach the coveted number of one million followers on the app.
The 46-year-old reportedly gained 2.1 million new followers in under three days and as of late, her account has garnered a whopping 9.1 million followers. In her debut post, Jolie shared a letter from a teenage girl in Afghanistan, leveraging her platform to amplify the first-person experiences of Afghans unnervingly facing the Taliban’s newly-cemented authority.
“This is a letter I was sent from a teenage girl in Afghanistan. Right now, the people of Afghanistan are losing their ability to communicate on social media and to express themselves freely,” Jolie, who also serves as Special Envoy for the UN Refugee Agency, wrote in the caption. “So I’ve come on Instagram to share their stories and the voices of those across the globe who are fighting for their basic human rights.”
In her personal message accompanying the letter, she continued, “I was on the border of Afghanistan two weeks before 9/11, where I met Afghan refugees who had fled the Taliban. This was twenty years ago. It is sickening to watch Afghans being displaced yet again out of the fear and uncertainty that has gripped their country. To spend so much time and money, to have blood shed and lives lost only to come to this, is a failure almost impossible to understand.” She urged her followers to stay abreast, “Like others who are committed, I will not turn away. I will continue to look for ways to help. And I hope you’ll join me.”
