High-profile Republicans gain followers in first weeks of Musk’s reign
Shift in follower counts for Elizabeth Warren, Ted Cruz show how the platform is beginning to change under Musk
The biggest shifts in Twitter followers for Republican and Democratic members of Congress since Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter.
Rep. Marjorie
Taylor Greene GA
Oct. 28 Musk
buys Twitter
Rep. Jim
Jordan OH
300K
Sen. Ted Cruz TX
200K
100K
Rep. Hakeem
Jeffries NY
More
followers
0
Fewer
followers
Sen. Bernie
Sanders VT
−100K
Sen. Elizabeth
Warren MA
−200K
Sept.30
Nov. 21
Note: Sanders is an independent who caucuses with Democrats. Top 10 Democrats and Republicans by the difference in follower counts from Oct. 27 to Nov. 21.
The biggest shifts in Twitter followers for Republican and Democratic members of Congress since Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter.
Oct. 28 Musk
buys Twitter
Rep. Marjorie
Taylor Greene GA
Rep. Jim
Jordan OH
300K
Sen. Ted Cruz TX
200K
100K
Rep. Hakeem
Jeffries NY
More followers
0
Fewer followers
Sen. Bernie
Sanders VT
−100K
Sen. Elizabeth
Warren MA
−200K
Sept. 30
Oct. 10
Oct. 24
Nov. 07
Nov. 21
Note: Sanders is an independent who caucuses with Democrats. Top 10 Democrats and Republicans by the difference in follower counts from Oct. 27 to Nov. 21.
Fewer followers
More followers
200
K
300
K
K
0
K
−100
100
Sept. 30
The biggest shifts in Twitter followers for Republican and Democratic members of Congress since Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter.
Oct. 10
Oct. 24
Oct. 28
Elon Musk
buys Twitter
Nov. 7
Nov. 21
Rep.
Adam. B
Schiff
CA
Rep.
Hakeem
Jeffries
NY
Rep.
Matt
Gaetz
FL
Rep.
Jim
Jordan
OH
Rep.
Marjorie
Taylor
Greene
GA
Sen.
Elizabeth
Warren
MA
Sen.
Bernie
Sanders
VT
Sen.
Rand
Paul
KY
Sen.
Ted
Cruz
TX
Note: Sanders is an independent who caucuses with Democrats. Top 10 Democrats and Republicans by the difference in follower counts from Oct. 27 to Nov. 21.
Fewer followers
More followers
200
K
300
K
K
0
K
−100
100
Sept. 30
The biggest shifts in Twitter followers for Republican and Democratic members of Congress since Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter.
Oct. 10
Oct. 24
Oct. 28
Elon Musk
buys Twitter
Nov. 7
Nov. 21
Rep. Adam
B. Schiff CA
Rep. Hakeem
Jeffries NY
Rep. Matt
Gaetz FL
Rep. Jim
Jordan OH
Rep. Marjorie
Taylor Greene
GA
Sen. Elizabeth
Warren MA
Sen. Bernie
Sanders VT
Sen. Rand
Paul KY
Sen. Ted
Cruz TX
Note: Sanders is an independent who caucuses with Democrats. Top 10 Democrats and Republicans by the difference in follower counts from Oct. 27 to Nov. 21.
It’s difficult to tell exactly why follower counts go up and down, and the counts are often affected by Twitter banning bot accounts en masse. Not everyone following a specific politician is a supporter.
Still, the pattern suggests that tens of thousands of liberals may be leaving the site while conservatives are joining or becoming more active, shifting the demographics of the site under Musk’s ownership. The changes are in line with a trend that began in April, when Musk announced his intention to buy the company.
On average, Republicans gained 8,000 followers and Democrats lost 4,000. For its analysis, The Post analyzed data from ProPublica’s Represent tool, which tracks congressional Twitter activity.
Musk and Twitter did not respond to requests for comment.
Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion late last month having pledged to bring his vision of free speech absolutism to the site. The day he took over, he said Twitter wouldn’t become “a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences!” But users immediately started testing the boundaries of the new site under Musk, prompting hate speech to briefly surge.
Since then, Musk launched and rolled back Twitter Blue Verified, a $7.99 monthly membership that puts a check mark next to any account that pays. The move prompted an explosion of fake accounts. Musk also fired about half the staff, and required the rest of his workers to pledge to work long hours or leave the company, significantly reducing the number of people who are policing the site.
Musk also has restored several major rule-breaking accounts, including former president Donald Trump’s, following an unrepresentative and unscientific Twitter poll. On Thursday, after a similar poll, he said he would grant “general amnesty” for all banned accounts that didn’t post spam or break the law.
Advertisers have been fleeing, raising doubts about the site’s ability to make money. More than a third of Twitter’s top 100 marketers have not advertised on the social media network in the two weeks before Tuesday, according to a Washington Post analysis.
Elon Musk and Twitter
1/4
Musk says he is a political moderate, but has agreed with right-wing figures on the site who accuse Twitter’s previous management of being biased against conservatives. The day before the midterms, he called on his followers to vote Republican, breaking with tradition of other social media CEOs who typically do not explicitly endorse one party over another.
The right wing and conservatives for years have accused Twitter of censorship with no proof. Many have cheered Musk’s takeover, saying it’s a reason to return to the site.
On the day Musk’s purchase was finalized, Republican members of Congress saw their follower counts skyrocket. Greene gained some 37,000 followers, as did Jordan, then the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus. That same day, Democrats’ follower counts plummeted, with Warren losing nearly 19,000 followers and Schiff losing 13,000.
The trend continued for days, with prominent online Republicans gaining thousands of followers and Democrats losing them.
The same thing happened Nov. 19, when Musk announced that he would be reactivating Trump’s account after holding a poll in which any user could vote yes or no. Greene gained an additional 45,000 followers, and Warren and Sanders each lost more than 22,000. In the past month, Greene has increased her following by 330,000, a 28 percent gain, and Jordan by 290,000, a nearly 10 percent rise.
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