Key Points
- Meta users report automatic re-following of Trump, Vance, and Melania Trump accounts.
- Some users experienced repeated re-following even after unfollowing or blocking the accounts.
- Meta communications director Andy Stone attributed the issue to account rollovers.
- Celebrities like Demi Lovato and Sarah Colonna have publicly voiced their concerns, but the White House has not yet responded.
Several Meta platform’s social media users reported on Wednesday that their accounts automatically re-followed the profiles of President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and First Lady Melania Trump—despite having previously unfollowed them. This issue arose after Trump assumed office for his second term, frustrating and confusing many users.
When a new presidential administration takes office, official White House social media accounts are typically transferred to the new leaders. This transition occurred in 2017 and 2021 when Trump and Biden assumed the presidency. However, users claim they found themselves re-following the accounts without consent even after unfollowing the president, vice president, and first lady accounts multiple times since Monday.
“I, like others, repeatedly unfollowed Trump and Vance on Monday, only to discover that I was following them again,” said Facebook user Anna Springer on Meta-owned platform Threads. “Not sure if it was just a glitch or something intentional, but it definitely happened.” Some users even reported blocking the accounts, only to see them reappear in their following lists.
Meta has yet to provide an official statement, but Andy Stone, Meta’s communications director, addressed the issue on X (formerly Twitter). Stone clarified that people who followed the Biden administration’s official accounts were automatically rolled over to the Trump administration’s corresponding accounts.
“People were not made to automatically follow any of the official Facebook or Instagram accounts for the President, Vice President or First Lady,” Stone stated, adding that the White House manages these pages and that changes in account ownership may cause delays in processing follow and unfollow requests.
The White House has not responded to requests for comment. Celebrities like singer Demi Lovato and comedian Sarah Colonna have also experienced the issue. Lovato shared an Instagram story showing she had unfollowed Vice President JD Vance twice in one day, while Colonna questioned why her Facebook account had automatically followed Melania Trump.
Social media followers allow users to see posts from the accounts they follow, usually with a simple click. However, the automatic re-following issue has sparked concerns over user autonomy and Meta’s account management processes.
