Updated: This story originally reported that West had lost nearly 10 million Twitter followers on Wednesday. Instead, he has actually gained followers.
On Wednesday, various users tweeted that rapper Kanye West lost nearly 10 million followers in 20 minutes after posting a picture with his personally autographed “Make America Great Again” hat. Various Twitter monitoring sites did not show such a loss, however.
https://twitter.com/Phil_Lewis_/status/989231956264194049
According to Twitter monitoring site Twitholic, the 27 million number may have come from April 2017, before the rapper deleted his Twitter account. Since he rebooted the account earlier this month, West’s follower numbers have ballooned from 5 million on April 17 to 18 million as of Wednesday.
Twitholic screenshot of the numbers of followers on Kanye West’s Twitter account.
Similarly, the website Twitter Counter reported a similar upward trajectory.
Twitter Counter screenshot of Kanye West’s Twitter followers.
Unfortunately, since West did actually have 27 million followers in the past, and since he did not change his Twitter handle since deleting his account and rebooting it, his Twitter presence seems more vulnerable than most to this kind of fake news.
Philip Lewis, the Huffington Post writer who shared the screenshot, insisted that he did indeed take the screenshot earlier on Wednesday. It seems the fault did not lie with him, but with a Twitter glitch.
I think it was ultimately just a glitch! When I went to his page, it said 27M and then when I clicked on it again it fell to 18. A few people commented the same under my post
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) April 25, 2018
In reality, West began Wednesday with 18.3 million followers, and by 6 p.m. Eastern, that number had risen to 18.8 million. West’s Trump support seems to have increased his following, not decreased it.
On Wednesday afternoon, West tweeted a picture of his “Make America Great Again” baseball cap, with President Donald Trump’s personal signature.
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/989227154993963009
Yesterday, the rapper tweeted a cryptic message, perhaps hinting at a possible presidential run in 2024.
2024
— ye (@kanyewest) April 25, 2018
Shortly after sharing the MAGA hat, West tweeted a picture of his face with the slogan “Keep America Great #Kanye2024.”
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/989228791976284160
Earlier on Wednesday, West tweeted that he and Trump are “dragon energy.” “He is my brother,” the rapper declared.
You don't have to agree with trump but the mob can't make me not love him. We are both dragon energy. He is my brother. I love everyone. I don't agree with everything anyone does. That's what makes us individuals. And we have the right to independent thought.
— ye (@kanyewest) April 25, 2018
Trump himself thanked West for his support, tweeting, “Thank you, Kanye. Very cool.”
Thank you Kanye, very cool! https://t.co/vRIC87M21X
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2018
Singer-songwriter Harry Styles led the exodus from following West, one Twitter user reported.
https://twitter.com/TheHarrySource2/status/989240612644970498
The rapper’s wife, Kim Kardashian West, defended Kanye West, attacking the media for speculating about his mental health.
“To the media trying to demonize my husband let me just say this… your commentary on Kanye being erratic & his tweets being disturbing is actually scary. So quick to label him as having mental health issues for just being himself when he has always been expressive is not fair,” Kardashian West tweeted.
To the media trying to demonize my husband let me just say this… your commentary on Kanye being erratic & his tweets being disturbing is actually scary. So quick to label him as having mental health issues for just being himself when he has always been expressive is not fair
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) April 25, 2018
She also defended his opinions about Trump. “Now when he spoke out about Trump… Most people (including myself) have very different feelings & opinions about this. But this is HIS opinion. I believe in people being able to have their own opinions,even if really different from mine He never said he agrees with his politics,” the wife explained.
Now when he spoke out about Trump… Most people (including myself) have very different feelings & opinions about this. But this is HIS opinion. I believe in people being able to have their own opinions,even if really different from mine
He never said he agrees with his politics— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) April 25, 2018
Kardashian West also declared that her husband would “never run in the race of public opinion.” She further insisted that “in a few years when someone else says the same exact thing but they aren’t labeled the way he is and you will all praise them! Kanye is years ahead of his time.”
Kanye will never run in the race of popular opinion and we know that and that’s why I love him and respect him and in a few years when someone else says the same exact thing but they aren’t labeled the way he is and you will all praise them! Kanye is years ahead of his time
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) April 25, 2018
Indeed, Kanye West insisted that he did not agree with Trump entirely. “my wife just called me and she wanted me to make this clear to everyone. I don’t agree with everything Trump does. I don’t agree 100% with anyone but myself,” the rapper tweeted.
my wife just called me and she wanted me to make this clear to everyone. I don't agree with everything Trump does. I don't agree 100% with anyone but myself.
— ye (@kanyewest) April 25, 2018
The hubbub about Kanye West’s tweets began on Saturday, when the rapper praised black conservative commentator Candace Owens. Owens had attacked the Black Lives Matter movement as one side in an “ideological civil war” between black people “focused on their past and shouting about slavery” and “black people that are focused on their futures.” She attacked the “victim mentality.” https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/987696355341553665
On Monday, “Dilbert” creator Scott Adams said West had “ripped a hole in reality” with the tweet, shattering “mental prisons.”
West retweeted the videos of Adams praising him, and BuzzFeed’s Ryan Broderick went on to call Adams a “men’s rights activist,” citing as evidence an article in which Adams attacked men’s rights activists, saying, “Get over it, you bunch of p**sies.”
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