Some users of Meta’s social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, reported on Wednesday that their accounts appeared to automatically re-follow official profiles for President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and First Lady Melania Trump, even after they had unfollowed or blocked them.
This unusual activity coincides with the standard transition of White House social media accounts when a new administration takes office. In 2017 and 2021, official accounts were transferred to reflect the new president and their team as Donald Trump succeeded Barack Obama and later Joe Biden succeeded Trump.
However, reports surfaced of users finding themselves re-following the official profiles after manually unfollowing them. Facebook user Anna Springer wrote on Threads, another Meta-owned platform, “I, like others, repeatedly unfollowed Trump and Vance on Monday, only to discover that I was following them again. Not sure if it was just a glitch or something intentional, but it definitely happened.”
Meta has not issued an official statement addressing the concerns. However, Andy Stone, Meta’s communications director, clarified on X (formerly Twitter) that users were not automatically made to follow the accounts but that the transition of these profiles to reflect the Trump administration might cause delays in processing follow and unfollow requests.
“People who were following the Biden administration’s official accounts were rolled over to the same accounts under the Trump administration,” Stone explained. “Those accounts are managed by the White House, and with a new administration, the content changes.”
The White House has yet to comment on the issue.
High-profile individuals, including singer Demi Lovato and comedian Sarah Colonna, also reported unexpected re-follows. Lovato posted on Instagram about her struggles to unfollow Vice President Vance, telling her 150 million followers, “I have unfollowed this guy twice today.” Colonna took to Threads, tagging Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, questioning why her account automatically followed Melania Trump.
Social media platforms often use follower counts to determine the reach of accounts, with more followers translating to a larger audience for posts. Users expressed frustration over what they perceived as an intrusion into their control over their online preferences.
Meta is yet to clarify whether the issue stems from a technical glitch or other factors related to the transition of the official accounts.
