Prominent conservatives have seen their Twitter follower counts shoot up since Elon Musk reached a deal to buy the social media platform while many leading Dems have seen their Twitter followers drop.
Twitter has confirmed that this is not automated bots leaving the platform but it is being done manually. “While we continue to take action on accounts that violate our spam policy which can affect follower counts, these fluctuations appear to largely be a result of an increase in new account creation and deactivation,” a spokesperson for Twitter said.
So conservatives are coming back to the platform while the left is throwing temper tantrums in huge numbers. Donald Trump Jr, who has 7.7 million followers, saw his followers rise by 87,296 on Tuesday. Trump Jr. is a prolific Twitter user who often complains about how the platform treats conservative voices. He said:
“While I’m awesome and totally deserving of 87,000 new followers a day it seems that someone took the shackles off my account. Wonder if they’re burning the evidence before new management comes in.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis saw his follower count grow by 141,566 people on Tuesday, according to SocialBlade statistics. He said Musk’s move is “a good deal for shareholders” and “raises the prospect that the platform will be a place where free speech can thrive, not a tool for narrative enforcement.”
Matt Gaetz saw a 21,430 follower boost on Tuesday.
But it was all doom and gloom n the other side of the aisle.
New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez saw 20,725 people stop following her Tuesday.
Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota lost 10,097 followers Tuesday.
And former President Barack Obama lost 5,063 followers after Musk’s announcement.
From The Daily Mail:
Marjorie Taylor Greene, the abrasive Georgia representative, saw her tally rise by 41,181 on Tuesday, while her friend Matt Gaetz, the firebrand Florida congressman, went up 24,929.
‘It really is something how conservative accounts are getting massive follower increases today….’ Gaetz tweeted on Tuesday.
Rachel Maddow, the MSNBC anchor beloved by the left, lost 18,648 followers on Tuesday, while Fox News rival Tucker Carlson won 129,873.
The same was true internationally: Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, saw his total rise 65,268 to over 7.7 million, while Canada’s leftist prime minister, Justin Trudeau, was down 2,833 to six million.
The rises and falls were likely due to left-leaning Twitter users closing their accounts, following Musk’s takeover.
While I’m awesome and totally deserving of 87,000 new followers a day it seems that someone took the shackles off my account. Wonder if they’re burning the evidence before new mgmt comes in? pic.twitter.com/9Mso48qyNP
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) April 26, 2022
.@elonmusk’s offer to buy Twitter is a good deal for shareholders and raises the prospect that the platform will be a place where free speech can thrive, not a tool for narrative enforcement.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) April 25, 2022
