The parody cow Twitter account Devin Nunes is suing now has more followers than he does
A parody cow Twitter account Rep. Devin Nunes is suing has now surpassed him in followers.
Earlier this week, the Republican ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee filed a lawsuit against Twitter and against a handful of its users — including "Devin Nunes' mom" and "Devin Nunes' cow" for defamation, negligence, and conspiracy because the accounts incessantly mocked him. Earlier this week, the "@DevinCow" cow account had barely a couple thousand followers. By Wednesday afternoon, it boasted 434,000, compared to Nunes' 395,000.
The "Devin Nunes' mom" account has been suspended — some of its tweets included in Nunes' lawsuit included profanity — but "Devin Nunes' cow" is still very much alive. Andy Lassner, the executive producer of the Ellen Degeneres show, propelled the push for more followers.
Nunez is suing Twitter and several of its users for $250 million in damages. It's unclear how he hopes to meet the criteria for winning his suit, particularly given that public figures must meet higher standards for defamation.
The "Devin Nunes' cow" account launched in June 2017, highlighting the profits from a farm Nunes' family had in California but moved to Iowa.
Nunes included some old tweets from the accounts he's in his complaint, including this June 2018 one from the "Devin Nunes' mom" account: "@DevinNunes your district is looking for you? Are you trying to obstruct a federal investigation again? You come home right this instant or no more Minecraft!"
Nunes' lawsuit filed in federal court in Virginia is particularly interesting given legislation he filed last year to clamp down on frivolous lawsuits. It was called the "Discouraging Frivolous Lawsuits Act."
