Meta has dismissed social media allegations that it compelled Facebook and Instagram users to follow official accounts linked to President Trump’s administration.
The company clarified that changes observed by some users were part of standard procedures during the transition of the @POTUS, @VicePresident, and @FLOTUS accounts between administrations.
Meta also acknowledged a temporary issue on Instagram that blocked searches for certain political terms, including “Democrats” and “Republican,” and stated it was working to resolve the matter.
On Monday, some users reported their accounts automatically followed President Trump, Vice President Vance, and First Lady Melania Trump’s official accounts. Others claimed they had never followed these accounts and were unable to unfollow them.
Meta spokesperson Andy Stone denied these claims, explaining that users who had previously followed the official @POTUS account saw it updated to reflect President Trump’s administration.
“This is the same procedure we followed during the last presidential transition,” Stone said, noting that delays in following or unfollowing accounts might occur as profiles transition.
Meta’s public affairs director, Nkechi Nneji, further clarified, “Meta doesn’t make anyone follow any account, and we never have.” She suggested that some users might not recall opting to follow official White House accounts during prior administrations.
Katie Harbath, Facebook’s former public policy director for global elections, explained that the transition process was first implemented during President Obama’s departure in 2017.
The protocol ensures each incoming president begins with a clean slate while maintaining followers who support the institution.
“The idea was that people follow the institution, not the individual,” Harbath explained. This approach was repeated during the Trump-to-Biden transition in 2021.
Regarding the Instagram search issue, Stone stated it affected various hashtags, not just politically aligned terms. By Wednesday, Nneji confirmed that most of the technical problems had been resolved on the mobile app.
CBS News tested searches for terms like “Democrat” and “Republican” on Instagram’s mobile version, finding millions of results. However, on the desktop version, searches for “Democrats” and “Republican” returned no results, though variations like “Republicans” and “Democrat” were searchable. Other terms, such as “Constitution,” yielded no results on the desktop version but showed over a million results on mobile.
Meta also noted that President Trump’s personal Facebook and Instagram accounts, which were suspended following the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack for inciting violence, were reactivated in 2023.
