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

Updated November 28, 2022 at 11:45 a.m. EST|Published November 27, 2022 at 6:00 a.m. EST

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.

4 min

High-profile Republican members of Congress gained tens of thousands of Twitter followers in the first few weeks of Elon Musk’s reign over the social media network, while their Democratic counterparts experienced a decline, according to an analysis by The Washington Post.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) all lost about 100,000 Twitter followers in the first three weeks of Musk’s ownership of Twitter, while Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Jim Jordan (Ohio) gained more than 300,000 each.

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.

Musk’s ‘free speech’ agenda dismantles safety work at Twitter, insiders say

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. On Saturday, Musk said he would support Florida’s Republican governor Ron DeSantis if he ran for president in 2024.

‘Opening the gates of hell’: Musk says he will revive banned accounts

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 taking over Twitter, CEO Elon Musk has laid off thousands, many tasked with maintaining crucial services. Former staff worry the site may collapse. (Video: Jonathan Baran/The Washington Post)

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.

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‘The bird is freed’ and now X
Since Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in October, a lot has happened. The latest: Musk moved to rebrand the social media site, removing the bird logo in favor of an X. Though the rebranding as “X” is not a new idea for Musk, it’s yet to be seen how this will affect Twitter’s brand recognition.
Paid blue check marks
Paid verification was the first product to launch under Musk’s leadership, and its rollout was anything but smooth. The $7.99-per-month subscription allowed any user to have a sought-after blue check mark, but after an explosion of impersonation accounts the program was paused. The backlash to the flood of misinformation caused some brands to pull their advertising from the platform.
Check your Twitter privacy settings if you’re worried about your data.
Rise of Twitter alternatives
Many competitors have risen to challenge Twitter. Most recently, Meta’s Instagram launched Threads, which topped 100 million users in just five days. Other Twitter alternatives such as Bluesky and Mastodon have seen more mixed results. Users may be seeking other platforms after Twitter has started limiting posts users can see.
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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.