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'I know what the truth is'

Therese Rein reacts to negative comments made about her husband, Kevin Rudd, following his resignation as foreign minister overnight.

SOCIAL network Twitter exploded at the announcement of Kevin Rudd's resignation as foreign minister, with the terms ''Kevin Rudd'' and ''foreign minister'' breaking into the top 10 search terms in Australia.

Despite days of media commotion surrounding the possibility of a leadership challenge, mentions of ''Rudd'' were averaging only a few hundred at any given time throughout the day yesterday, according to web analysis site topsy.com.

However, as news broke that Mr Rudd would hold a press conference in Washington, DC, at about 1am local time, mentions of his name on Twitter rose rapidly, peaking at more than 9000 at 5.30pm.

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Therese Rein tweeted support for her husband. Photo: Harrison Saragossi

At 5.33pm, Mr Rudd's daughter Jessica set off a flood of re-tweeting when she posted the message ''Effing proud of you, Dad. xxxx''. Among the many reposting the message was Mr Rudd's wife, Therese Rein, who added the comment ''Me too, Kevin xxxx''.

The flush of public response ranged from the enthusiastic to the obscene. There were calls for an immediate return to a Rudd prime ministership, while others suggested he start a new political party.

Mr Rudd also joined in from @KRuddMP, tweeting ''My resignation speech is here kevinruddmp.com/2012/02statem… - thanks to everyone in the twitterverse for your kind words. Much appreciated. KRudd.''

Soon after the speech the @KRuddPM Twitter name was re-established. The account was popularised during Mr Rudd's time as PM but replaced with @KRuddMP after Julia Gillard displaced him in 2010. Mr Rudd at @KRuddMP is believed to have been the first to follow the new @KRuddPM account.

Follow the National Times on Twitter: @NationalTimesAU

Poll: Whose address to the media today are you most impressed with? Julia Gillard

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Kevin Rudd

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Tweet, tweet, the word is on the wing