Twitter seems to have started to be abandoned by some users after Elon Musk was confirmed to buy the social media company. This can be seen from several celebrity accounts that have lost followers in the thousands to hundreds of thousands.
Like the Twitter account of former US President Barack Obama, which has 132 million followers and is the most followed account on Twitter. After the news that Twitter would be acquired by Musk spread, Obama's account lost more than 300,000 followers.
Singer Katy Perry also lost more than 200,000 followers, while actor Mark Hamill also admitted to losing 8,000 followers in two hours.
Meanwhile, right-wing politicians on Twitter actually get a surge in new followers. US Congressman Marjorie Taylor Green gained more than 100,000 new followers and Senator Ted Cruz's followers also increased to more than 60,000.
Although Twitter often cleans up bot accounts and fake accounts that can make users lose a lot of followers, Twitter ensures that these fluctuations are caused by organic factors such as the creation and deactivation of new accounts, not because of their interference.
"We have seen recent fluctuations in the number of followers," Twitter said in an official statement, as quoted by TechCrunch, Thursday (28/4/2022).
"While we are taking action against accounts that violate our spam policies that may affect follower counts, these fluctuations appear to be largely due to an increase in new account creation and deactivation. We will continue to monitor these fluctuations in follower counts."
Before the deal between Twitter and Musk was announced, many users said they would leave the platform if Twitter accepted Musk's offer.
As soon as this news spread, hashtags like #RIPTwitter and #GoodByeTwitter immediately trended on Twitter and other social media. Seeing the fluctuation in the number of followers, it seems that a large number of Twitter users immediately fulfilled their promises to delete their accounts.
The mass deactivation comes after some users said they feared Musk's approach to free speech would change content moderation policies and restore banned accounts, including those of former President Donald Trump.