Donald Trump has questioned the motives of Twitter after learning that his own account had lost followers significant followers over a two-day period.
According to records from social media tracking platform Socialblade, the @RealDonaldTrump account, which has otherwise gained followers since October 13, instead lost over 5,000 followers on the 23 and 24th of October.
He tweeted: “Twitter has removed many people from my account and, more importantly, they have seemingly done something that makes it much harder to join – they have stifled growth to a point where it is obvious to all.
“A few weeks ago it was a Rocket Ship, now it is a Blimp! Total Bias?”
Twitter has removed many people from my account and, more importantly, they have seemingly done something that makes it much harder to join – they have stifled growth to a point where it is obvious to all. A few weeks ago it was a Rocket Ship, now it is a Blimp! Total Bias?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 26, 2018
The loss of Twitter followers could be explained by the social media giant’s recent crackdown on fake accounts.
In June, the social network announced the beginning of tougher crackdown on ‘bots’, fake accounts set up to inflate the engagement of other users and spread coordinated messages.
At the time, Twitter warned its users of a potential drop in follower counts, particularly for popular accounts, as it continues to remove tens of millions of suspicious accounts, or around 6 per cent of the total user base.
According to The Times, Donald Trump also uses an ‘out-of-the-box’ iPhone, without the necessary cybersecurity protection usually installed by experts.
Trump responded to the claims, calling them “soooo wrong” in a tweet.