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The new Twitter revolution? AOC, Obama see followers drop as DeSantis and Don Jr numbers soar

A Twitter spokesperson said the changes were "organic" after an exodus of liberals and the arrival of conservatives following Elon Musk's takeover

The political landscape of Twitter appeared to be changing rapidly since Elon Musk bought the platform, with many wondering if their accounts had been restricted by woke staffers or biased algorithms.

Notable right-wing figures like Donald Trump Jr. and Tucker Carlson saw a major bump in their follower counts since Musk took over, while left-leaning figures such as Barack Obama and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez suffered huge slumps. The former President's son, who boasts 7.7 million followers on the platform, saw a surge of 87,296 followers on Tuesday, April 26, and suggested the uptick was possibly due to the cleaning of algorithms targeting prominent conservative voices prior to the SpaceX founder's takeover.

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"While I'm awesome and totally deserving of 87,000 new followers a day it seems that someone took the shackles off my account," Don Jr. tweeted, adding, "Wonder if they're burning the evidence before new management comes in." The post came after his account had grown by between 5,000 to 10,000 followers a day in the weeks leading up to Musk's acquisition.

According to SocialBlade, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also enjoyed a 141,566 bump in followers on Tuesday -- a significant increase from the 5,000-or-so followers he generally gained every day. The popular Republican governor lauded Musk's bid for Twitter, saying it was "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."

Meanwhile, conservative talk show host Dana Loesch also reported a surge of 9,000 followers on Tuesday, compared to the few hundred followers a day she gained previously. The prominent gun-rights activist echoed Don Jr.'s speculation. "Noticing an increase in followers and engagement after losing huge chunks (or static follower count for weeks on end) for the past few years," she tweeted. "Also seeing tweets from people whose accounts I never see and am not having to refollow other conservatives repeatedly. It's too soon for Musk to have done this but I'm wondering if something was changed by those seeking to minimize their fingerprint ahead of potential transparency."

On the other hand, left-wing figures saw their follower counts take a nosedive in the wake of Musk's takeover.  New York Rep. Ocasio Cortez, who boasts more than 12.9 million followers, lost 20,725 of them on Tuesday. She reportedly garnered around 1,000 new followers each day prior to Musk buying Twitter. AOC's fellow progressive "squad" member Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar lost 10,097 followers on Tuesday. Even former President Barack Obama, who has the most-followed account on Twitter at 131.7 million, lost 5,063 followers in one day, a major contrast from the 15,000-20,000 new followers he previously gained on a daily basis.

In a statement, Twitter said the fluctuations were organic, especially after many liberals decided to quit the platform over Musk's "free speech absolutist" stance while conservatives rushed to open new accounts in the wake of the announcement. "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," the statement read. Meanwhile, a Twitter spokesperson told NBC News that "high profile accounts" were mostly affected.

Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene enjoyed a 41,181 rise in followers on Tuesday, while her pal Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz went up by 24,929. "It really is something how conservative accounts are getting massive follower increases today…." the Republican firebrand tweeted on Tuesday.

MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow, a darling of the left, suffered a loss of 18,648 followers on Tuesday, while her Fox News rival Tucker Carlson reported a surge of 129,873. Even on the international level, right-wing figures made leaps while those on the opposite side of the aisle reported major slumps. Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro won 65,268 followers to cross 7.7 million, while Canada's Justin Trudeau lost 2,833 followers to around six million.

The exodus of liberals from Twitter also stemmed from their suspicion that Musk, 50, could reinstate former President Donald J. Trump's account and promulgate hate speech, especially after the world's richest man vowed to make it a more open platform for discourse and debate. Meanwhile, Rep. Greene shared a list of banned accounts that Musk must "bring back" to the platform. "Bring back President Trump," she said. "Bring back my personal account. Bring back Dr. Robert Malone. Bring back Alex Jones. Bring back Milo Yiannopoulos. Bring back the canceled nation. Bring back freedom of speech. Bring back America!"