John McCain Twitter Follower Request Reactions

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Sometimes the most wonderful things come to fruition because of Twitter. The #MeToo movement gave survivors a platform to share their experiences with sexual harassment and assault. Online conversations about HBO's Confederate series – which aimed to explore a world in which slavery was still legal in the United States – may have contributed to the stalled production. The social media site also allowed us to experience Chrissy Teigen's famous banana bread scramble and a full-blown dance party to Cardi B's "Bodak Yellow" in an NYC subway.

Sometimes, however, Twitter can be a little malevolent. Gizmodo reports that Senator John McCain learned this lesson the hard way on Monday after he put out a request for 74 more followers.

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We're only 74 Twitter followers away from 3M - spread the word & help us reach this big milestone!
— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) December 4, 2017

Unfortunately for the Arizona politician, the request actually backfired as people went on an unfollowing spree. As of press time, McCain's account appears to have dipped down to 2.98 million, well below his target.

Some vocalized that their decisions to delete McCain from their timelines was directly correlated to his vote in favor of a tax bill in the wee hours of Saturday morning. Others took the opportunity to throw in some jabs about McCain's leadership and the current state of the GOP.

Unfollowed... should have reconsidered that tax scam vote.. ??
— Lacy ? (@staygold8512) December 4, 2017

John I respect you as much as any politician I've ever seen, but you rolling over on the tax bill is a sell out to America.
— Brian Krassenstein? (@krassenstein) December 5, 2017

Unless you change your vote on the final tax bill I'm going to un-follow you, so you'll be at 75. You're breaking my heart, man. #TopOnePercent
— Katie McGrath (@katiemcgrath) December 4, 2017

3M! Wow! That almost 10M less than the number of people who will lose their insurance because of the shitty Tax bill you voted yes for without even reading it!
— Dana Goldberg (@DGComedy) December 5, 2017

As a former cancer patient, I expected more compassion from you. How depraved must you be to pass #GOPTaxBill that eliminates the medical expense deduction AND will lead to stripping away pre-existing condition coverage. #ByeGirl #UnfollowMcCain
— Social✽Fly (@socflyny) December 5, 2017

THANKS Senator for focusing on the real important stuff!@SenJohnMcCain vanity ≈ @POTUS vanity

?????????????????‍♂️??????????????????‍♂️??????????????????‍♂️??????????????????‍♂️??????????
— Souris Hong (@souris) December 4, 2017

Wow, looks like you've lost 10k followers rather than scooping up 74. You really can't get anything done, can you?
— Draco?or?Joy? (@SlythSeeker2017) December 4, 2017

I never followed him but just followed him in order to unfollow him.
— Maru (@pianogreen) December 4, 2017

This isn't the first time a political figure's public request on Twitter has been met with an unfavorable outcome. According to CNBC, Rep. Martha Blackburn released a poll in January with the intention of proving her followers wanted to repeal the Affordable Care Act only to learn that most people wanted to keep it.

Do you support the repeal of Obamacare? RT if you do, and share what you want to see as the replacement.
— Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) January 3, 2017

While no one knows how to stir up a controversial storm on Twitter quite like President Trump, his son, Donald Trump Jr., and daughter, Ivanka, have received their fair share of backlash, as well.

When in doubt, stick with the tried and true rule: "Never Tweet."