McCain reaches 3 million Twitter followers despite #UnfollowMcCain protest

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., praised the Senate Finance Committee for passing the tax measure through the use of regular order. (Reuters/Aaron P. Bernstein)

U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., reached his goal of 3 million Twitter followers Tuesday -- but not before thousands of social media users staged an online protest.

McCain was just 74 followers shy of 3 million when he asked for help in reaching the milestone. But instead he initially lost nearly 20,000 followers the following day.

The critics -- many marking their messages with #UnfollowMcCain -- were responding to McCain's recent vote on the Republican Party’s tax bill, which they said would hurt the poor and help the rich, the New York Daily News reported.

The protesters asserted that by voting to approve the bill, McCain had flip-flopped from his original position, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The bill, which the Senate approved around 2 a.m. ET Saturday, underwent major revisions in the final hours of negotiations.

McCain, who was diagnosed with brain cancer earlier this year, is not seeking reelection, so his number of Twitter followers lacks any real significance, Fortune reported.

A recent tally showed him to have nearly 1,300 more than 3 million followers, leading some Twitter users to speculate that bots were involved.