In 2020, countries were represented through an official presence on Twitter, either by personal or institutional accounts run by heads of state and government and foreign ministers. During the measured period, U.S. President Donald Trump was ranked first, having accumulated over million Twitter followers on his personal account. The official @POTUS account was ranked fifth with million followers worldwide.
Heads of state on Twitter
Twitter is a very conversational social platform, allowing users to communicate in a very public manner. Foreign ministries utilize Twitter to expand their online presence and digital diplomatic networks, and government officials are encouraged to interact with the public. The most conversational world leader on Twitter is the Government of Nepal, with percent of their tweets being @ replies to other Twitter users. Another more subtle layer of Twitter diplomacy is the mutual following of peers between official heads of state, minister and other government accounts – as of June 2020, the Foreign Ministry of Iceland (@MFAIceland) was ranked first, having mutual connections with other world leaders and foreign ministries on Twitter. During the measured period, @realDonaldTrump, @POTUS and the @WhiteHouse Twitter accounts did not follow any other foreign leaders. In 2018, the account of the U.S. State Department had only mutual peer connections on Twitter, painting a relatively isolated picture in terms of international political communications.