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More Than Half Of Obama’s Twitter Followers Don’t Exist

August 28, 2012 by  

More Than Half Of Obama’s Twitter Followers Don’t Exist
UPI FILE
President Barack Obama hosted the first "Twitter Town Hall" on July 6, 2011.

President Barack Obama has about 19 million people following him on Twitter. But reports suggest that as many as 70 percent of them may not even exist.

In a time when legitimacy is established by the number of one’s Twitter followers, it has become commonplace to purchase followers, reports The New York Times.

“And it’s not just ego-driven blogger types,” wrote Austin Considine. “Celebrities, politicians, start-ups, aspiring rock stars, reality show hopefuls — anyone who might benefit from having a larger social media footprint — are known to have bought large blocks of Twitter followers.”

At buytwitterfollow.com, you can purchase Twitter followers by the thousands. In many cases, the accounts are inactive or created by spammers.

The practice has become so common that it is now easy to determine how many fake followers a person has.

Mitt Romney has also been accused of having fake followers. In July, 100,000 new people began following Romney over the course of one weekend.

Both campaigns have denied buying fake followers.

Filed Under: Conservative Politics, Liberty News, Staff Reports
Bryan Nash

Staff writer Bryan Nash has devoted much of his life to searching for the truth behind the lies that the masses never question. He is currently pursuing a Master's of Divinity and is the author of The Messiah's Misfits, Things Unseen and The Backpack Guide to Surviving the University. He has also been a regular contributor to the magazine Biblical Insights.

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  • http://yahoo gator

    flashy, your silence is deafening.

  • AntiLibturd

    That shouldn’t surprise anyone since half of Oboner’s votes in 2008 didn’t exist either but were creations of ACORN using deceased people, felons, non-existent identities, pets, underage children, illegal aliens, ad nauseum

  • swampfox

    Ovomit could have a zillion Twittering sociopaths,who cares,the twit is still going to booted out OUR whitehouse this Nov,
    BYE,don’t let the door hit you on the way outt,as a booby prize they ought to give a telepropter.
    I wonder what the total uh count is for all four llllloooonnnnggggggg years we have had to put up.with his stupidity and.arrogance?

  • 45caliber

    It goes back to the wish that the person is important. “I want lots of followers to prove I’m more important that he is!”

    Most people are simply boring. What do I care about what some stranger does? I couldn’t care less. But these people simply MUST be important – at least in their own minds.

    I’m not sure if Oblama bought the numbers to appear more important – or if one of his Yes-men did it for him to make Oblama feel better.

  • Sue Tholken

    Is there anything about this government that is not corrupt or corruptable???? Let me show you my shocked face…..OH MY!
    Only a complete revolution will take care of this mess WE THE PEOPLE have allowed to fester like an abcess. We must eliminate the lobbyists, create term limits, eliminate benefits like pensions.

  • gunner689AI

    a large percentage of his voters didn’t exist either. thanks ACORN

  • sb36695

    Fake followers for a fake prezzy. Let me show you my shocked face.

    • JimH

      Votes from the cemetary, fake Twitter followers, fake birth certificate, sealed college records, is anything about this guy real? Who is he really?

      • 45caliber

        It will be interesting to see if anyone finds out after someone else is in power and has the ability to get those records unlocked.

  • s c

    Comrade ‘e’ still lives in utter denial. HOW can anyone be so ‘duh’ when it comes to politics? Comrade ‘e,’ you might as well assume that when it comes time to vote, we’ll see yet another avalanche of dead voters who find ways to vote multiple times the same day.
    In other words, SOME people find it impossible to have even a small dose of integrity when it comes to voting. Comrade e,’ when people find the time to use a website like Twitter to LIE, they won’t hesitate to do the same thing when they vote. Comrade ‘e,’ either you are PAID to lie your arse off on a daily basis, or you are so ‘out-of-it’ that prescription drugs and a long spell in a mental ward would be a good idea.
    You might get “fixed,” too. Did you ever have ANY self-respect?

    • 45caliber

      sc:

      Sorry, he can’t get fixed as you mentioned. If he did, he couldn’t have kids like him. And if he couldn’t have kids, then the government couldn’t have more voters like him. And they need those voters to remain in office…

  • dcjdavis

    Does following a person on Twitter necessarily mean that the follower likes that person? I rather doubt it. In fact, I think it’s entirely possible that a person would follow someone like the turkey in the white house simply because they detest him and they don’t want a single one of the inane things he might tweet to go unnoticed.
    Worth a mention, too, it’s a sad state of affairs that one can buy followers on Twitter or any other social network at all. Imagine, kids having money to do so and adults having the desire.

  • Chester

    Apparently I don’t even exist in the political world, as not only do I have NO twitter followers, I have NO twitter account, not even a smartphone to access said non-existent account. If political presence is to be determined only by an online following, then a lot of our elected officials don’t exist. I am on facebook thanks to a LOT of armtwisting, and om on one gaming site, but I do NOT go out of my way to sign up for things I can see no real benefits to me in.

  • Boyer

    Obama purchases ALL of his support. Does he not?

  • Warrior

    I recall, when I was younger, being taught something about “false idols”. What time is “america’s got talent” on tonight?

    • cawmun cents

      America has talents alright……just not the ones necessary to maintain political sanity,evidently.And what passes for talent nowdays,is suspect at the least from the beginning,considering who the producers pick to be the judges of such supposed talents.
      Cheers!
      -CC.

      • OLD MAN

        I HAVE OFTEN WONDERED ABOUT THOSE JUDGES…………….

  • Harold Olsen

    70% of Obama’s Twitter followers are fake. I’ll bet those same 70% voted for him in 2008 and will again in 2012.

    • Vigilant

      “In a time when legitimacy is established by the number of one’s Twitter followers…”

      What an utterly sad state of affairs in this country when “legitimacy” is established by anything so disingenuous as spuriously pumping up popularity numbers.

      It’s not just the act of stacking the deck that smacks so loudly of dishonesty, it’s the cynical (and unfortunately true) assumption that the shallow-thinking public is swayed by the band wagon effect.

      In a nation that no longer honors virtue, intelligence and critical thinking, but instead honors cheating, avarice, indolence and greed, it is but a short walk to failure.

      Bread and circus.

      • jerry

        You are so right. Good reply to where our society is moving

      • OLD MAN

        YES!….I agree with Jerry and Vigilant

      • http://yahoo gator

        Vigilant, i have to agree 100%. it’s the nature of the beast.
        i guess the truth hurts; doesn’t it flashy?

    • steve

      i wonder how many other world leaders are on twitter? what a disgrace to the position of president. if he feels that’s the only way to stay connected to the people, then we are in deaper do-do than previously thought.

    • eddie47d

      Twitter accounts don’t vote or do Facebook accounts. Maybe Obama and Romney have fake numbers placed on these sites or maybe not. The only thing that counts is the actual voter. Any kind of dishonest political manipulation is not good for the country but are you concerned about Corporations being labeled as people through Citizens United. Is their enfluence false presenting of numbers to enhance the potential vote count?

      • momo

        eddie47d says: Any kind of dishonest political manipulation is not good for the country but are you concerned about Corporations being labeled as people through Citizens United.

        Are you concerned where this country is heading? We’re on the verge of becoming a second rate power, and we’re worried about birth certificates and tax returns! Give me a frigging break! There’s 330 million people in this country, and at this moment we have 545 of those people calling the shots, and they’re not even the best most talented 545!
        We don’t live in a democratic republic, we live in an oligarchy controlled by money. Romney, Obama, two sides of the same coin. Congressional districts so gerrymandered that incumbents rarely lose. The founders didn’t want career legislators, they wanted citizen legislators, take your turn and then go home. The congress we have today is so corrupted, its enough to make you terminally ill. At this moment there are 24 lobbyists for every congrtessman and senator, do you think they’re going to listen to the average Joe’s gripe when 24 people are ready to line their pockets, think again, you haven’t got a chance.

      • eddie47d

        The thing is Momo I bet you will do nothing about all those lobbyists. There have been sereral attempts to stop their enfluence and nothing is done about it. We have to give them equal freedoms to manipulate Congress which Citizens United clearly did. It unleashed ALEC which directly works with Congresspersons to enact legislation. ALEC also works hand in hand with State Legislators and even writes the laws. Both those organizations are Corporate owned and the average citizen doesn’t stand a chance with their wealth and power. Now are you concerned about where this country is headed?

      • Vigilant

        eddie says, “Any kind of dishonest political manipulation is not good for the country but are you concerned about Corporations being labeled as people through Citizens United,” and then “We have to give [corporations] equal freedoms to manipulate Congress which Citizens United clearly did.”

        eddie, your knowledge as to corporations being treated as artificial persons is severely limited. Please see http://www.ehow.com/about_6071333_corporation-artificial-person-under-law_.html

        “The legal basis for treating corporations as people began in 1815, with the case of Dartmouth College v. Woodward. In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations had the same rights as people to make contracts, and to have those contracts honored.

        “The next step was the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, adopted in 1868, which gave every person in the United States equal rights under the law. The government meant to use the 14th Amendment to overturn state laws limiting the rights of freed slaves, but it soon opened the door for corporations to be given the same rights as people.

        There has been a lot of disagreement over just how much protection corporations should receive under the law and whether the concept that corporations have protection under the 14th Amendment should be overturned. Some Supreme Courts have been chipping away at corporate rights, while others have been enhancing them, but there have been no clear-cut decisions.”

        Citizens United broke no new ground on the subject, with the exception that it gave corporations a fair shot at campaign funding, an advantage held by labor unions and teacher’s unions for decades. Obama and the Dems didn’t like it one bit because it leveled the playing field in a game for which the unions had an unfair advantage for too long.

      • Vigilant

        Further, eddie is your wrong contention that lobbyists were given some new and expanded powers under the Citizens United case. They were not.

        Moreover, Obama was completely wrong in his contention during the State of the Union speech that the decision would open up the door to contributions from foreign nationals. It did not and would not.

        Lastly, check out who wrote the Obamacare law. It was neither senators nor Congressmen who wrote it, and it certainly wasn’t ALEC.

      • eddie47d

        You clearly don’t understand how much enfluence ALEC has gained in the statehouses either. They actually do write the laws and get state senators and reps to sign on. Enfluence peddling comes from many corners and we know where it is coming from in 2012.

      • Vigilant

        “Enfluence [sic] peddling comes from many corners and we know where it is coming from in 2012.”

        You got that right. Labor Unions, teacher’s unions, Civil Service Unions, leftist specisal interest groups, etc. Why must I continually refer you to http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/list.php to prove that the Dem contributors hold the record for campaign contributions, and why do you continually ignore the facts?

      • Vigilant

        P.S. I indeed clearly understand the nature of ALEC, and I highly approve of it.

        I also clearly understand that you didn’t counter even ONE of the several factual points I made.

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