Meta is refuting claims circulating on social media suggesting that it forced users of Facebook and Instagram to follow President Trump‘s official accounts. The company explains that the changes some users observed were standard procedures associated with the transition of the POTUS account from the previous administration to the new one.
Additionally, Meta mentioned it is addressing an issue on Instagram that temporarily prevented certain political terms, such as “Democrats” and “Republican,” from appearing in search results.
On Monday, several Facebook and Instagram users reported their accounts automatically following President Trump, Vice President Vance, and first lady Melania Trump’s accounts, identified under the handles @POTUS, @VicePresident, and @FLOTUS, respectively. Users claimed they had not followed these accounts previously and faced difficulties when attempting to unfollow them.
Meta spokesperson Andy Stone clarified that the company did not compel users’ accounts to follow the official presidential Facebook and Instagram pages. Instead, those who had previously followed the official POTUS account merely saw their follow updated to reflect President Trump taking office.
“This is the same procedure we implemented during the last presidential transition,” Stone remarked, noting that users might experience delays when attempting to follow or unfollow during the handover of these accounts.
Meta’s public affairs director, Nkechi Nneji, told CBS News: “Meta doesn’t make anyone follow any account, and we never have.” Nneji suggested that users might have forgotten they chose to follow the official White House accounts in previous administrations.
Katie Harbath, Facebook’s former public policy director for global elections from 2011 to 2021, disclosed that her team played a role in establishing the company’s first presidential social media transition as Obama exited office in 2017.
The Trump administration followed similar protocols again in 2021 when transitioning the accounts to the Biden administration. This process allows each incoming president to start fresh with their social media profiles.
“This gives them the chance to customize the page to their liking, ensuring it features the correct cover photo and other details,” Harbath explained to CBS News. “The decision was made under the understanding that people are following the institution—regardless of who occupies the position—and that followers would be copied over to the new page.”
Typically, when users seek to unfollow an account on Facebook, they can click the ellipsis on that profile page and select the “unfollow” or “block” option.
Moreover, some Instagram users reported being unable to find results for “Democrat” and similar political terms, while results for “Republican” were accessible.
Stone addressed these claims on Tuesday, stating that a technical issue was “affecting people’s ability to search for a variety of hashtags on the platform—not solely those on the left.” Nneji updated CBS News on Wednesday, indicating that technical problems relating to searches for both political and non-political terms had mostly been resolved on the mobile app.
CBS News tested various versions of “Democrat” and “Republican” on Instagram’s mobile app on Wednesday, yielding millions of results. However, the desktop version returned no results for “Republican” and “Democrats,” while yielding results for “Republicans” and “Democrat.” Other terms, like “Constitution,” showed no results on the desktop version, yet over a million results were displayed on the mobile app.
Mr. Trump’s personal Facebook and Instagram accounts were suspended following the events of January 6, 2021, at the Capitol, after the company cited his posts as inciting violence. His accounts were reactivated in 2023.
The timing of the recent issues raised concerns among some Facebook and Instagram users. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg attended President Trump’s inauguration on Monday alongside other tech leaders like X owner Elon Musk and Amazon executive chair Jeff Bezos.
Zuckerberg announced the end of Facebook’s third-party fact-checking program on January 7, citing concerns over bias and excessive enforcement of rules. The platform will shift towards a community-driven approach, similar to X’s Community Notes.
In addition, Zuckerberg announced that the platform would start gradually integrating more recommendations for political content, reversing a decision made in February 2021 when he noted user feedback indicating a desire to minimize politics and conflict in their experience.
Joel Kaplan, Meta’s chief global affairs officer, stated in a message on Meta’s website that this change represents “an effort to return to the commitment to free expression.”
“This involves being vigilant about how our policies and systems impact people’s ability to express themselves and having the humility to adapt our strategy when we recognize our mistakes,” Kaplan added.
Corynne McSherry, legal director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit digital rights organization, told CBS News that social platforms lack sufficient transparency concerning how they operate for users.
“This is a fundamental problem,” McSherry stated. “The challenges being faced reflect a considerable amount of confusion and difficulties from the user’s perspective in understanding how to manage their settings to avoid unwanted content. All platforms have a significant journey ahead to improve in this area.”
