Yes, US President Donald Trump is a master Twitter user, but believe it or not he’s not the social network’s most popular person.
In fact, Trump is fairly mid-pack in terms of Twitter’s most-followed first page. So, with that said, who has more clout on the social network based solely on the number of followers they command?
No ad to show here.
For reference’s sake, Donald Trump commands around 23.39-million followers on the social network. Just yesterday, rapper Pitbull had command of more people, but since then, Donald Trump has largely overtaken him.
It’s likely that we’ll see Trump overtake many of these accounts this year, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
Emma Watson
Twitter rank: 52nd
Total followers: 23.71-million
Total tweets: 1500+
#WomensMarch pic.twitter.com/HkSrOqFTmk
— Emma Watson (@EmmaWatson) January 22, 2017
Hermione Granger, Belle and Nicki Moore are also more popular than Trump. Watson joined Twitter mid-2010 and has since amassed over 23.7-million fans on the network. Considering that she only has around 1500 tweets sent from her account, that’s a pretty lucrative hit rate too.
Watson’s known for her Twitter activism, which she regularly practices on the ground too.
Alicia Keys
Twitter rank: 47th
Total followers: 28.78-million
Total tweets: 6800+
Now, more than ever. Who’s with me? Share this with someone who’s loved you no matter what.
#TheKeysOfAlicia pic.twitter.com/N4bGPl88S2 — Alicia Keys (@aliciakeys) January 28, 2017
The singer-songwriter who came to prominence for her 2001 hit Fallin’ is still a mainstay on social media, especially after 2016. Releasing a new album, appearing on The Voice and performing at the Democratic National Convention last year all helped to cement her place on Twitter’s front page.
Daniel Tosh
Twitter rank: 46th
Total followers: 25.61-million
Total tweets: 13 000+
if you’re a secret trump supporter god will still know who you voted for and that’s what really matters, right republicans? #toshOlection
— daniel tosh (@danieltosh) November 9, 2016
The ever-vulgar Daniel Tosh also features ahead of Trump on Twitter’s most-followed page. Tosh is a fairly prolific tweeter, with over 13 000 posts accredited to his account, but one can argue he isn’t as celebrity-famous as other names on this list. Still, we bet he could probably tell a better joke than anyone on here.
Kaka
Twitter rank: 44th
Total followers:26.21-million
Total tweets: 4600+
Happy new year!! pic.twitter.com/YOCrp6Uxai
— Kaka (@KAKA) January 1, 2017
Once the envy of every football manager on the planet, former Real Madrid and AC Milan star Kaka is still going strong on Twitter. He incidentally now plays for Orlando City FC — a football team in the US’s Major League Soccer division — which could explain his fairly lofty follower count.
Narendra Modi
Twitter rank: 43rd
Total followers: 26.84-million
Total tweets: 13 900+
The President’s address wonderfully encapsulated India’s strengths, aspirations, potential & the efforts towards #TransformingIndia.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 31, 2017
That’s right. In terms of politicians on Twitter, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi outweighs Donald Trump. More interesting still, Modi nearly has as many Twitter followers as Kanye West.
Pink
Twitter rank: 34th
Total followers: 28.83-million
Total tweets: 6200+
Today was a beautiful day to be proud of. Im proud to have a voice, to have the courage to use it. I’m proud to be a woman, I’m proud of us.
— P!nk (@Pink) January 22, 2017
Here’s a name I wasn’t expecting to see, but Pink has been famous for about as long as I could tie my shoes. She’s a punk pop icon and is still pumping out hits to this very day. But Twitter? Yeah, she has around 28-million followers, even if her posting pattern is erratic.
Kevin Hart
Twitter rank: 27th
Total followers: 31.87-million
Total tweets: 32 300+
Today is going to be a great day….why u ask….well because I Fucking say so….that’s why
— Kevin Hart (@KevinHart4real) January 27, 2017
The man who has no concept of volume control, Kevin Hart is one of the highest-ranked comedians on Twitter alongside Daniel Tosh. Hart joined Twitter in May 2009, and has since posted over 30 000 tweets. But with around 31.8-million followers, at least he’s not quite talking to himself.
Jennifer Lopez
Twitter rank: 21st
Total followers: 39.33-million
Total tweets: 10 000+
Bambi… pic.twitter.com/Hpl2lHphHC
— Jennifer Lopez (@JLo) December 27, 2016
Famous for My Love Don’t Cost A Thing, Get Right and I’m Real, Jennifer Lopez is another singer-songwriter who holds more clout than Donald Trump on Twitter. Incidentally, JLo also possesses one of the shorter handles on the social media network. Even Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey can’t quite match it.
Shakira
Twitter rank: 18th
Total followers: 42.72-million
Total tweets: 4400+
Thanks to my fans for these two Grammys, @carlosvives, Afo Verde, my team, my angels Sasha and Milan and the love of my life, @3gerardpique. pic.twitter.com/z1uLMdijwx
— Shakira (@shakira) November 18, 2016
Famous in South Africa for her role in the 2010 World Cup song Waka Waka, Shakira has over 40-million followers on Twitter. That’s more than the total population of Ukraine.
Barack Obama
Twitter rank: 3rd
Total followers: 83.99-million
Total tweets: 15 400+
Four more years. pic.twitter.com/bAJE6Vom
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 7, 2012
And finally, Barack Obama — although using @POTUS for much of his presidential reign — has the third most followed account on Twitter, with nearly 84-million followers. He’s the top politician, second-most popular male and also follows over 600 000 accounts himself — which is the most for any account in the top 100.
We’re really sorry about this Donald Trump, but Obama really is still more popular than you on at least one digital platform.
Note: Twitter figures were sourced from SocialBlade on 3 February 2017. As social media is a fickle creature, these numbers will likely ebb and flow.
Feature image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr (CC 2.0, resized)
