Meta denies forcing users to follow Trump administration accounts

Meta, the company that owns the social networking sites Facebook and Instagram, denied forcing users to follow official accounts belonging to senior figures in the new Trump administration.

Some platform users had complained after Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday that they were “automatically” forced to follow the new president, as well as Vice President J.D. Vance and First Lady Melania Trump.

Meta spokesman Andy Stone explained that the accounts are managed by the White House, which has updated them to reflect the new office holders.

“This is the same procedure we followed during the recent presidential transition period,” he wrote in a statement.

The accounts bear the names “POTUS” – which stands for “President of the United States” – as well as “Vice President” and “FLOTUS”, short for First Lady.

Archived versions of the pages show that the POTUS and FLOTUS accounts previously bore the name and official photo of Joe Biden and Jill Biden, respectively.

Mr. Stone added that it “may take some time for follow and unfollow requests to process as these accounts change.”

Trump became president of the United States for the second time on Monday and quickly proceeded to issue a host of executive orders and directives asserting his political agenda — starting with Withdrawal from the World Health Organization to declare a national emergency on the border with Mexico.

He attended his inauguration ceremony Some of the most influential billionaires in technologyincluding Meta Chairman Mark Zuckerberg and X Chairman Elon Musk, who is also taking on an advisory role in the new administration.

Trump has previously strongly criticized Meta, whom he banned in 2021 for what he described as “praising people involved in violence” during the January 6 riot at the US Capitol.

The president and his allies also accused the company of collaborating with the Biden administration to suppress reports regarding allegations about Biden’s son, Hunter, and some content surrounding the Covid pandemic. Mr. Zuckerberg He said he regretted the decision.

In August, Trump wrote in a book that Zuckerberg would “spend the rest of his life in prison” if he tried to interfere in the 2024 presidential election.

But since Trump won the election in early November, Zuckerberg appears to have won over. Dining with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence At the end of the month and Donating $1 million (£786,000) to his inauguration After a few weeks.

Meta also said earlier this month that it would end third-party fact-checking in favor of an approach similar to Community X’s feedback, in an apparent attempt to address some of Trump’s past criticism.

The company said this represented a return to its “fundamental commitment to freedom of expression.”