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Hugo Chavez Now Top Dog on Twitter, Hires 200 Aides to Help Him Tweet

by Amar Toor on May 10, 2010 at 10:15 AM

hugo chavez on twitter
Well, that certainly didn't take long. Just two weeks after he decided to embrace Twitter as a means to further his revolutionary agenda, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has already laid claim to the vaunted title of Most Popular Venezuelan Tweeter, effectively cementing his status as the most awesome person in the world.

With over 237,000 people following his every tweet, Chavez and his 'chavezcandanga' handle have already surpassed the 234,000 users following TV channel Globovision, which remains the most openly anti-Chavez media outlet in the country. According to the AP, Chavez is taking full advantage of this sudden surge in online popularity, casting his ascension to the throne as further evidence of his unrivaled political leadership (even as many of his followers hurl insults or criticism). Speaking about his position as Venezuela's new online prom queen, Chavez, in typically diplomatic form, said, "Some criticize me, others insult me. I don't care. It's a form of contact with the world."

The growth of his Twitter activity has been so explosive, in fact, that Chavez has apparently begun enlisting a team of 200 aides to help him manage what he calls an "avalanche of requests, and some grievances." Hiring 200 people to manage your 140-character tweets might seem extreme, but, then again, nobody ever said spreading political propaganda and squashing dissenting opinion with an iron fist was easy. [From: AP]

Tags: dictator, followers, Globovision, HugoChavez, media, politics, socialnetworking, top, twitter, venezuela, web

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