SOCIAL DISTORTION
Lewis, McHenry lose thousands of followers in Twitter purge
Ray Lewis and Britt McHenry are not as popular as one may think — at least on Twitter.
The social media site began deleting fake accounts on Thursday — many of which users could buy to pad their following on the website, which the New York Times exposed in January.
The former Ravens linebacker and 2018 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, as well as McHenry, a former ESPN reporter, were among those who were hit hardest by the purge.
Lewis, 43, saw his following drop dramatically, from 712,000 followers to 364,000 — nearly half of his followers being fake, bought accounts.
Meanwhile, McHenry's following dropped from 362,800 to 223,000 — a 38.5 percent reduction. She stood at 506,478 followers when the Times published its exposé in January.
President Donald Trump and former president Barack Obama both lost followers in the purge, too, while NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal lost 1 million followers.
O'Neal's purge was not nearly as damaging, though, as it only accounted for 6.5 percent of his 15.3 million followers.
Both Lewis and McHenry are polarizing figures.
Lewis avoided a murder charge in 2000 by reaching a plea agreement in exchange for testimony and a guilty plea for obstruction of justice. He went on to have a lucrative NFL career and will be inducted into the Hall of Fame next month.
McHenry, 32, was laid off by ESPN in 2017 and accused the company of terminating her because of her conservative views.
She was suspended by ESPN two years prior after a video surfaced of her berating a tow truck company employee.
McHenry has recently shifted her commentary into right-wing politics, which consumes most of her Twitter feed.