Several Meta social media users reported that their accounts automatically re-followed President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and First Lady Melania Trump after they had unfollowed them once Trump began his second term. This occurred even after users had unfollowed the accounts multiple times, with some claiming they had even blocked them.
When a new presidential administration takes office, the White House’s official social media accounts are transferred to the new leaders. This has happened in previous transitions, including when Trump succeeded Barack Obama in 2017, and when Joe Biden succeeded Trump in 2021. However, some users reported that they were automatically following the official Trump administration accounts, despite their attempts to unfollow.
Facebook user Anna Springer shared her experience on Threads, owned by Meta, saying she unfollowed Trump and Vance multiple times on Monday, only to find herself following them again. Meta communications director Andy Stone clarified on X that while users were not forced to follow these accounts, follow and unfollow requests could take time to process as the accounts transitioned to the new administration.
American singer Demi Lovato and comedian Sarah Colonna also voiced their frustration on Instagram and Threads, with Colonna tagging Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a post about automatically following Melania Trump.
In general, users follow accounts to view their posts, and the more followers an account has, the wider the reach of its messages. Meta has yet to comment on the issue.
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