Rep. Devin Nunes’ (R-Calif.) attempt to stop people from poking fun at him online continues to spectacularly backfire.
Nunes on Monday launched a $250 million lawsuit against Twitter. Among Nunes’ allegations, he said the platform failed to properly police two parody accounts ― @DevinNunesMom, which pretended to be his mother and has now been suspended, and @DevinCow, which alleges to be his cow.
The congressman faced an immediate backlash online over the legal action.
And now, the @DevinCow account (which remains live) is close to gaining more followers than Nunes’ verified feed after a campaign by multiple high-profile tweeters including Andy Lassner, producer of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
As of early Wednesday, the satirical cow account had 317,000 followers compared to Nunes’ 394,000. The numbers continue to rise.
Nunes’ bid to silence his critics on social media was a hot topic on Tuesday’s late-night television. Jimmy Kimmel faux-pleaded with his viewers to definitely, 100 percent, not follow the account.
“Late Show” host Stephen Colbert, meanwhile, unveiled his own Nunes-themed profile.
So far, it has posted only one tweet:
The cow account, which before the lawsuit only had a handful of followers, also attracted interest from other personalities on Twitter including “Star Wars” actor Mark Hamill and George Takei from “Star Trek.”
Even conservative attorney George Conway, who is married to White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, opined on the cow’s chances in court: