Uhuru, Trump and Obama lose massive Twitter followers in purge

President Uhuru Kenyatta (right) and blogger Cyprian Nyakundi (left).

President Uhuru Kenyatta is among Kenyans who have lost followers in a recent purge by social network site Twitter.

The President lost over 16,000 followers after Twitter announced on Wednesday that they will be deleting some accounts in an effort to increase trust and transparency in their service.

“This specific update is focused on followers because it is one of the most visible features on our service and often associated with account credibility,” Vijaya Gadde, Twitter’s legal, policy, and trust and safety lead, explained in a blog post. The move has rattled social media influencers who make use of  their massive numbers to set different agendas.

Former US President Obama is also among the biggest losers. Twitter wiped out close to 2.3 million followers from his page that boasts of over 100 million followers.  

Former US President Barack Obama with President Donald Trump. [Courtesy]

US celebrity Kim Kardashian lost 1.7 million followers, creating a slight dent to her close to 57 million followers. US President Donald Trump, an avid Twitter user known for his Twitter outbursts and exchanges, saw his follower count drop by roughly 400,000 people.

Kenyan bloggers Cyprian Nyakundi and Christian Dela saw their numbers reduced to almost half. Nyakundi, who had close to 1.2 million followers was left with about 696,000 while Dela ended up with 521,000 from 1 million.