Meta has publicly refuted claims that Facebook and Instagram users were compelled to follow President Donald Trump’s official accounts.
According to the Meta, the observed changes were part of standard procedures implemented during transitions between administrations.
CBS News, Nkechi Nneji, Meta’s public affairs director, mentioned that users might not recall following the official White House accounts under past administrations. “Meta does not force anyone to follow any account, and we never have,” Nneji emphasized.
User Claims: Some users expressed surprise when they noticed posts from the newly updated POTUS account, which switched from Joe Biden to Donald Trump, appearing in their feeds. One user exclaimed, “Automatically making everyone follow him…WTF,” while another questioned, “How am I automatically following….Mark! What do you have going on?” Another user noted the persistence of the issue, stating, “I have now gone and unfollowed him twice, and they keep switching it back to ‘following’. I guess maybe if I block him, that would work. That’ll be my next step.”
In addition to addressing these concerns, Meta acknowledged working to resolve an issue on Instagram that temporarily blocked search terms like “Democrats” and “Republican.”
It is noteworthy that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg attended President Trump’s inauguration ceremony. In the lead-up to the event, Zuckerberg’s company contributed $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund. This donation came after a heated election cycle in which Trump had threatened repercussions against tech leaders for any perceived interference, even suggesting that Zuckerberg should “spend the rest of his life in prison” if he attempted to meddle in the 2024 election.
