Meet the Outside Groups With the Most Influence in Congress on Twitter
More than 200 members of Congress follow a conservative think tank and the country's largest business organization, according to an analysis of congressional Twitter accounts. A report by Quorum Analytics found that 205 members of Congress follow the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and 203 members follow the Heritage Foundation, making them the two most followed non-media and non-government accounts by members. Heritage Foundation was an early adopter of Twitter, joining the social network in 2007 and making the site a key component of its online presence. "Members of Congress and their staff are a primary audience for Heritage, which is why we've made it part of our mission to communicate our policy research on Twitter," Rob Bluey, vice president of publishing at the Heritage Foundation, told TIME. "We know it's a platform influencers in Washington use to consume news and information.", Beyond those two outside groups, most members follow media outlets and reporters, as well as government Twitter handles. The member of Congress with the most members following is Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, with 280 members following. The most popular news organization account is The Hill with 372 members following.