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These individuals have repeatedly been labeled as opinion leaders, but often without in-depth theoretical reflection. We fill this gap by introducing a novel typology that allows for greater scrutiny in the identification of different types of opinion leaders in the modern media environment. Using this typology, we adequately capture\u2014for the first time\u2014opinion leadership as practiced by actors like SMIs, describing them as Proximal Mass Opinion Leaders (short: ProMOLs). We highlight that\u2014despite their reach\u2014ProMOLs exert a seemingly interpersonal and horizontal influence by engaging in personalized communication with opinion followers in self-built networks. Furthermore, we theoretically model the various flows of communication between ProMOLs, their communities, and other actors in the public sphere, thereby illustrating the multiple layers of ProMOLs\u2019 impact. 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