Politics

Homer stays, Medvedev goes: Why Stephen Harper unfollowed Russia's PM on Twitter

While Stephen Harper is still receptive to the tweets of Homer Simpson, he has stopped following the Russian prime minister on Twitter.

'No interest in following Russian propaganda,' PMO says

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's inclusion among the people and organizations followed by Stephen Harper on Twitter was particularly noteworthy because he was the only foreign leader followed by Harper. (RIA Novosti, Dmitry Astakhov, Government Press Service/Associated Press)

While Stephen Harper is still receptive to the tweets of Homer Simpson, he has stopped following the Russian prime minister on Twitter.

Earlier this month, CBC News pointed out that the Simpson family's patriarch and Dmitri Medvedev were among the noteworthy people and organizations that Harper followed on his Twitter account @pmharper.

What made Medvedev's inclusion particularly noteworthy was that he was the only foreign leader followed by Harper and that Medvedev's tweets continued to be followed by Harper despite the tough criticism coming from the Conservative government about Moscow's actions in Ukraine.

But days after CBC News published the story, Harper's Twitter account, which at present follows 221 people, unfollowed Medvedev.

Asked about the sudden unfollowing, Carl Vallée, a spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office, said in an email: "The Putin regime's aggressive behaviour in illegally occupying Ukraine speaks for itself. We have no interest in following Russian propaganda."

However the Twitter falling out appears to be one-sided, so far. Medvedev continues to follow the prime minister's tweets.