Official data or reports from Meta or independent analytics firms

Meta Clarifies Auto-Following of Trump and Vance on Social Media Due to POTUS Account Transition

Jan 21, 2025, 09:03 PM

Following the inauguration of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, some users of Facebook and Instagram reported being automatically set to follow the official accounts of the new administration. This phenomenon was attributed to the standard procedure of transferring control of official government social media accounts from the outgoing to the incoming administration. Users who had previously followed the POTUS and Vice President accounts under the Biden administration found themselves following Trump and Vance's pages after the transition. Meta, the parent company of both platforms, clarified through spokesperson Andy Stone that no users were forced to follow these accounts; rather, the change occurred because the official accounts are managed by the White House and automatically update to reflect the current administration. This transition process is consistent with previous presidential handovers, where the accounts of the outgoing administration are archived, and the followers, totaling 11 million for the POTUS account, are transferred to the new administration's accounts.