Justin Bieber tops Lady Gaga to rule Twitter

twitter.com/justinbieber

(Reuters) - Teen heartthrob Justin Bieber with his hordes of fans known of Beliebers became the King of Twitter on Tuesday, topping fellow pop star Lady Gaga as the user with the most followers.

Data from TwitterCounter.com showed that the 18-year-old Canadian singer jumped into the lead with 33.33 million followers, topping Lady Gaga's 33.32 million and ending her two-and-a-half year rule of the microblogging site.

A spokesman from TwitterCounter.com said Lady Gaga has held the top slot on Twitter since August 2010 when she overtook U.S. pop star Britney Spears.

Bieber rose to fame as a baby-faced pop star singing love songs such as "Baby" after being discovered on YouTube in 2008. He has released two No. 1 albums in the past 18 months - the holiday-themed "Under the Mistletoe" and "Believe."

Bieber was named by Forbes magazine in 2012 as the third-most powerful celebrity in the world and his huge following on Twitter was cited as a reason why marketers need to take notice of the 140-character micro-blogging site.

Lady Gaga has dropped to second in Twitter followed by singer Katy Perry in third with 31.49 million followers then Rihanna and Barack Obama with 26.17 million followers. Britney Spears has slipped to sixth place.

(Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith; editing by Patricia Reaney)

(You can see the Twitter top 100 list )

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Check for restrictions at: http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp

More Digital Life:

Some smartphones have GPS capability that many apps need in order to function, but if you forget that your location is turned on for social media apps like Twitter, you could be sharing your location with complete strangers. TODAY.com's Kyle Michael Miller reports

Jul

2012

8:00pm, EDT

Paparazzo charged for Justin Bieber car chase

By Josh Grossberg, E! Online

There's a cure for Bieber Fever -- and it sounds very painful. A paparazzo who allegedly couldn't get enough of that Justin Bieber stuff is facing potential jail time after being targeted today by prosecutors in Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office confirms to E! News criminal charges have been filed against freelance photographer Paul Raef from a July 6 high-speed freeway chase that ended with Bieber getting a speeding ticket and the shutterbug seemingly getting away.

Slideshow: Justin Bieber

Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

Launch slideshow

City attorney spokesman Frank Mateljan tells E! News the 30-year-old photog faces four misdemeanor charges in all: following another vehicle too closely, reckless driving with the intent to capture pictures for commercial gain, reckless driving and failing to obey the lawful order of a peace officer.

Prosecutors weighed their decision in part on whether they believed Raef endangered lives during the pursuit.

According to Mateljan, the photog drove his Toyota Rav 4 in excess of 80 miles her hour while trying to keep up with the teen idol's Fisker Karma electric sports car. The chase involved both vehicles darting across all lanes of a freeway and even riding on the shoulder, which forced other motorists to brake or swerve to avoid collision. One of those motorists was Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine, a former cop who was among those calling 911 during the pursuit.

"It was a very dangerous, chaotic situation," Zine said. "I was driving 60 to 65 miles per hour. When (Bieber) passed me, he was ... driving in a careless, reckless fashion."

Follow @ TODAY_ent

California Highway Patrol eventually pulled Bieber over, cited him for speeding, and released the popster, but not before Raef sped off. About 30 minutes later, Justin called police to report he was being harassed on the interstate by the same Toyota. Officers eventually collared Raef after identifying his vehicle's license plate in a downtown L.A. parking garage.

If convicted, the paparazzo could face up to one year in the county jail and fines up to $3,500.

An attorney for Raef could not be reached for comment.

Related content:

Justin Bieber cited for reckless maneuvering and speeding | Video

More in TODAY Entertainment: