Weiner woes cut into congressional tweets

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WASHINGTON, June 9 (UPI) -- Social media analysts say there is a noticeable drop in the number of Twitter messages by members of the U.S. Congress since the Anthony Weiner scandal broke.

A group called TweetCongress monitors Twitter traffic on Capitol Hill and said this week the number of messages sent via the social networking Web site from members of Congress slumped 28 percent during the week of May 30-June 6.

The Hill reported Thursday the May 30 Memorial Day holiday may have played a role in the drop-off as well, but Monday was a workday and Twitter messages were down then as well.

Weiner, a Democratic congressman from New York, landed in hot water with colleagues and the spotlight of late-night comedians after a lewd image of him was sent via Twitter. He initially claimed his account had been hacked but later copped to sending risque images and have inappropriate communications with women he never met in person.

TweetCongress said Weiner's mea culpa news conference Monday coincided with 338 Twitter messages from Republicans and only 120 from the Democratic side.