Is Twitter dying?" the social media platform's largest individual stakeholder, Elon Musk, asked on Saturday.
He was calling out users, such as Justin Bieber, who are among the most-followed accounts and yet rarely post.
“Most of these 'top' accounts tweet rarely and post very little content,” the Tesla chief executive wrote, captioning a list of the 10 profiles with the most followers — a list on which he sits at number eight, with 81 million followers.
Scroll through the gallery above to see the 10 most-followed people on Twitter.
Is Musk right? Do these prolifically followed celebrities hardly ever share content?
Here's how the top 10 most-followed use the platform...
1. Barack Obama
Followers: 131.5 million
Tweets: 16,400
While the former US president joined Twitter in March 2007, he didn't start tweeting until 2011, and of course, has used other official presidential accounts in between.
He's fairly active on Twitter these days, with 16 tweets each in April and March, 23 in February and 29 in January.
He uses Instagram quite frequently, too, with a slight variation in content, but overall, Obama is on Twitter more often.
2. Justin Bieber
Followers: 114.3 million
Tweets: 31,400
Canadian singer Justin Bieber, who joined Twitter in March 2009, has only tweeted once in 2022 — about Canadian hockey (incidentally around the time he tested positive for Covid-19) — but he was fairly active between October and December last year, then quiet between August and October.
While he seemingly takes breaks from Twitter every so often, he remains prolific on Instagram, with several posts per day (31 in April so far).
3. Katy Perry
Followers: 108.8 million
Tweets: 11,600
Katy Perry remains active on Twitter, which she joined in February 2009, with 10 posts in April so far about her involvement in American Idol (she's a judge), Katy Perry Collections and the odd one in support of Ukraine.
She tweeted almost 40 times in March, about 11 in February and 28 in January.
It's more or less the same content on Instagram.
4. Rihanna
Followers: 106 million
Tweets: 10,600
Rihanna joined Twitter in October 2009, but has been quiet on the platform for the past 10 days. She'd put out 18 tweets this year at the time of writing, and seems to be far more active on Instagram, where she's posted about 11 times in April so far on her main feed.
On Twitter, she posted only three times in March and nine each in February and January, mostly about Fenty Beauty, Savage X Fenty, climate justice and her pregnancy wardrobe.
5. Cristiano Ronaldo
Followers: 98.8 million
Tweets: 3,778
Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has been known to delete tweets in the past, and so his tweet count may not be particularly reflective of how active he is on the platform.
He's not a prolific tweeter, but posts a few times a month at least, with two in April, eight in March, six in February and nine times in January, when he kept us up to date on his trip to Dubai and Expo 2020.
He's far more active on Instagram, however, with almost daily posts.
His content mostly spans family, football and fitness.
6. Taylor Swift
Followers: 90.3 million
Tweets: 716
Taylor Swift, who joined Twitter in December 2008, famously deleted all of her social media posts a few years ago, and so now her first tweet that's visible on her account is from August 2017, when she posted teasers of her album Reputation.
Despite her love-hate relationship with the platforms, she is active, but barely. She's only shared two tweets this year, in response to Blur's Damon Albarn saying she didn't write her own songs, although she did post a fair bit in November.
Between August and October she took another break, and yet was very active in 2019 and 2020, so it's safe to say Swift is not a reliable source of social media content.
Her usage of Instagram is about the same, although it's different content. This year, she posted about the movie adaptation of Where the Crawdads Sing and her cat's birthday on the main feed, for example.
7. Lady Gaga
Followers: 84.5 million
Tweets: 9,742
Lady Gaga joined Twitter in March 2008 and still uses it, but don't expect regular updates.
She's posted twice in April so far, both times about the Grammys, then 10 updates in March, four in February and 11 in January.
Gaga has mostly been posting about awards season, House of Gucci and magazine covers she's appeared on. She also retweets collaborator Tony Bennett.
She uses Instagram a little more frequently, again mostly to post looks from the red carpets.
8. Elon Musk
Followers: 81.1 million
Tweets: 17,300
Most of us already know Musk is among the most prolific Twitter users. He's posted 13 times within the past 24 hours alone (at the time of writing) and that's excluding retweets.
It's clearly his platform of preference.
Musk made his Instagram account private in March, saying you need to follow @elonmusksnft to be accepted as a follower on his main account.
9. Narendra Modi
Followers: 77.7 million
Tweets: 32,400
India's Prime Minister is also a pretty prolific poster, as most politicians are. He's posted six times in the past 24 hours (again, at the time of writing) and you can generally expect several updates from him per day.
He's on Instagram far less, with only one post in April so far, five in March and seven in February.
10. Ellen DeGeneres
Followers: 77.5 million
Tweets: 23,700
The comedian's account, @TheEllenShow, is very active, with several posts per day and 27 so far in April.
It's mostly clips from The Ellen DeGeneres Show, but also causes that are dear to DeGeneres's heart, such as, in recent weeks, LGBTQ+ rights and support for Ukraine.
With the daytime talk show set to end on Thursday, May 26, we can expect different content from the star going forward (and perhaps a change in handle). With no clips to share, she may indeed stop posting as much, too.
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
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LIST OF INVITEES
Shergo Kurdi (am)
Rayhan Thomas
Saud Al Sharee (am)
Min Woo Lee
Todd Clements
Matthew Jordan
AbdulRahman Al Mansour (am)
Matteo Manassero
Alfie Plant
Othman Al Mulla
Shaun Norris
How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
WandaVision
Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany
Directed by: Matt Shakman
Rating: Four stars
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh359,000
On sale: now
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets