socialmedian: Democrats Favored On Twitter's Suggested User List, Watchdog Claims

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Democrats Favored On Twitter's Suggested User List, Watchdog Claims

Source: Huffington Post

Oct 28, 2009

Summary

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — When people sign up for Twitter, the popular social-networking site presents a list of suggested users to follow, driving significant traffic to sports figures, celebrities, politicians and other prominent posters.

In California, the list has attracted the attention of political watchdogs because it apparently favors Democrats over Republicans in next year's race for governor. That raises questions about whether Twitter should change its policy at a time when the site is catching on as a popular recruiting tool for candidates.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is on the suggested user list and has 1.2 million followers. His likely opponent for the Democratic nomination, Attorney General Jerry Brown, also made the list and has 960,000 followers, even though he is not a declared candidate and has posted the fewest tweets of all the gubernatorial hopefuls.

None of the three Republican candidates is on the list, and each has fewer than 5,000 followers.

"It's a dumb move," said Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies, an

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