Former followers of President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Instagram may now be following President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance. This automatic transfer of followers to the new administration’s official accounts (@POTUS and @VP) has sparked anger and confusion.
These official accounts are distinct from Trump and Vance’s personal social media profiles. However, some users reported difficulties unfollowing Trump, attributing the issue to Instagram. Meta, Instagram’s parent company, maintains this is standard procedure.
Andy Stone, Meta’s communications spokesperson, stated on Wednesday that users weren’t automatically enrolled to follow official Facebook or Instagram accounts for the President, Vice President, or First Lady. He explained that these White House-managed accounts’ content changes with each new administration, mirroring the process used in previous presidential transitions. He added that processing follow and unfollow requests may take time during these account handovers.
This practice involves official accounts for high-ranking officials retaining their follower base while the page content is cleared. This applies to X and Facebook as well. President Barack Obama, who had an official presidential account on X, documented this transition.
Archives of previous administrations’ social media posts are preserved by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
Other official accounts, including those for the Press Secretary, have also undergone this transition.
This online controversy unfolded as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sat behind Trump at the Inauguration alongside other tech CEOs Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. Zuckerberg also recently donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund.
Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts were temporarily suspended following the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots.
