It might have turned some heads when Luis Carlos Rúa attended the 2026 TIME100 Next gala in a full white elephant suit. But for the newly elected Colombian senator, the outfit wasn’t a fashion statement; it’s central to his mission as an advocate and political influencer against corruption .

Rúa had been making videos on Instagram and TikTok for five years anonymously under the name Elefante blanco, or the White Elephant, a reference to the unfinished and wasteful infrastructure projects that Rúa exposes.

Earlier this year, he was elected to the Senate of Colombia after revealing his identity just three days before the vote. Rúa told TIME on the red carpet before the gala, which took place on Oct.…