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Meta has refuted claims it has forced users of its social media networks to follow the accounts of President Donald Trump and his new administration.
Some users spoke out, following Monday’s inauguration and change of regime at the White House, to voice their concern that Trump content was appearing on their timeline when they hadn’t previously followed such accounts or made any suggestion that they wanted to.
One accusation was that Meta had artificially increased Team Trump’s follower count on Facebook and Instagram with the underhand move, however, the company has spoken out to allay fears with what appears to be a rather routine adjustment.
At the time of writing, the official POTUS and White House accounts have approximately 11 million followers, respectively.
Meta, the company which owns social media networks Facebook and Instagram, has denied forcing users to follow official accounts belonging to senior figures in the new Trump administration.https://t.co/WMFqDDLPJk
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) January 23, 2025
Some users will retain suspicion at Meta’s change of tack
As reported by the BBC, a Meta spokesperson explained how the sudden change isn’t what it seems, that it is just another sign of the change in regime at the White House. The official set of accounts are switched from the outgoing officials to the incumbents, managed by staffers at the heart of the U.S. government.
“This is the same procedure we followed during the last presidential transition,” said Andy Stone in a statement.
These accounts are not to be confused with the personal pages of President Trump or others such as Vice President JD Vance, they belong to the office and positions currently held by the respective individuals.
While all may not be as it seems at first glance, some social media users will retain an element of suspicion due to the change of approach from Meta and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg toward Trump and co.
A significant policy shift from the Facebook boss has been viewed as part of a charm offensive toward the new U.S. administration, while the President has been involved in social matters, including the furore over the TikTok ban.
This is part of the new normal with President Trump’s second term in office off and running.
Image credit: Via Grok/X
