NEW YORK: Some Meta social media customers stated on Wednesday (Jan 22) that their accounts re-followed the profiles of President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and first girl Melania Trump after they’d unfollowed these accounts as soon as Trump took workplace for his second time period.
When a presidential administration modifications, the official White Home social media accounts roll over to the brand new elected officers. That occurred in 2017 and 2021, when Trump succeeded Barack Obama as president, after which when Joe Biden succeeded Trump.
Nonetheless, some customers stated that even after unfollowing the president, vp and first girl accounts since Monday, they discovered they have been quickly following these accounts once more, in some instances after unfollowing greater than as soon as or blocking the accounts.
“I, like others, repeatedly unfollowed Trump and Vance on Monday, solely to find that I used to be following them once more,” stated Fb person Anna Springer on Threads, which can also be owned by Meta.
“Unsure if it was only a glitch or one thing intentional, nevertheless it positively occurred.”
Meta didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. However Meta communications director Andy Stone stated on X that individuals who had been following the Biden administration’s official accounts rolled over to the identical official accounts beneath the Trump administration.
“Folks weren’t made to robotically observe any of the official Fb or Instagram accounts for the President, Vice President or First Woman,” Stone stated on X.
“These accounts are managed by the White Home so with a brand new administration, the content material on these pages modifications.”
“It might take a while for observe and unfollow requests to undergo as these accounts change arms,” Stone stated on Threads.
The White Home didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
American singer Demi Lovato posted a photograph to her Instagram story of her following the vp.
“I’ve unfollowed this man twice right this moment,” she wrote to her 150 million followers.
Others reported they have been additionally following first girl Melania Trump with out selecting to take action.
“Why did my Fb robotically begin following Melania Trump this (morning)? What are you doing?” actor and comic Sarah Colonna stated on Threads on Tuesday, tagging Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, in her submit.
Social media customers observe different customers to see their posts, often by clicking a single button. The extra followers an account has, the broader the viewers that sees their messages.