What Ch谩vez and Obama have in common: Twitterplomacy
Presidents, prime ministers, and sheikhs are actively tweeting to reach a generation of young people who live on social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook 鈥� sites that were instrumental in helping protesters in Tunisia and Egypt topple autocratic regimes.
Twitter has verified the accounts of more than 40 world leaders, including Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who logged the 100,000th follower of his Twitter page in March and uses the site to criticize the United States. Tweets, indeed, are now being heard around the world.
As a nod to Twitter turning 5 years old on Monday, here's a look at statesmen worldwide who are increasingly taking to the medium.
Kim Jong-il, leader of North Korea
- Tag: @uriminzok (鈥渙ur nation鈥�)
- Followers: 11,400
- Tweeting since: July 15, 2010
- Tweet: 鈥淭he revolution makes the mighty tremble.鈥� (March 7)
Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, prime minister of the United Arab Emirates
- Tag: @HHShkMohd
- Followers: 378,000
- Tweeting since: June 3, 2009
- Tweet: 鈥滻鈥檇 like to share with you this stunning image of #Dubai which sets a new record for the world鈥檚 largest photo.鈥� (May 12, 2010)
Barack Obama, president of the US
- Tag: @BarackObama
- Followers: 7 million
- Tweeting since: May 5, 2007
- Tweet: 鈥淪ending condolences to the people of Japan, particularly those who lost loved ones in the earthquake & tsunamis. U.S. stands ready to help.鈥� (March 11)
Hugo Ch谩vez, president of Venezuela
- Tag: @chavezcandanga
- Followers: 1.3 million
- Tweeting since: April 1, 2010
- Tweet: 鈥淗ey how鈥檚 it going? I appeared like I said I would: at midnight. I鈥檓 off to Brazil. And very happy to work for Venezuela. We will be victorious!!鈥� (April 27, 2010)
Paul Kagame, president of Rwanda
- Tag: @PaulKagame
- Followers: 7,200
- Tweeting since: May 4, 2009
- Tweet: 鈥淚n my opinion..let Rw.or Africa be the best place(s) they can n their pple want them to be ,,! Unfrtntly we lag behind .....!!!鈥� (March 13)
Dmitry Medvedev, president of Russia
- Tag: @MedvedevRussia
- Followers: 215,000
- Tweeting since: June 9, 2010
- Tweet: "To all women, we wish you a happy International Women鈥檚 Day! Enjoy spring warmth and high spirits! We love you!鈥� (March 8)
