In the brief period since Donald Trump took office, a peculiar trend has emerged on social media platforms. Users have discovered that they are suddenly following Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, First Lady Melania Trump, and the official Trump White House accounts on Instagram and Facebook, despite not having chosen to do so previously. This raises an intriguing question: Did Meta initiate these follows without user consent?

Clarifying Instagram’s User Following Policy

Meta has stated definitively that users are not being compelled to follow these accounts. The company directed inquiries to a post by Andy Stone, its communications representative, on Threads, which notes, “Don’t forget: the Facebook.com/POTUS and Facebook.com/WhiteHouse profiles are managed by the White House and will evolve with the current administration.” Additional clarification was provided to Cosmopolitan, stating: “No one was automatically made to follow any official accounts for the President, Vice President, or First Lady. These accounts are transitioned with each new administration, which is standard procedure during presidential transitions. It may take some time for unfollow requests to be processed as these accounts are updated.”

This explanation holds logical weight: the accounts represent the office itself rather than any individual holder. Thus, users who follow these official accounts are essentially connecting with the current president, vice president, and first lady. A similar transition occurred during the previous change in administration: This report from CNN in January 2021 details how various platforms—including Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and YouTube—facilitated the transition of followers to the incoming Biden administration. Unlike these platforms, Twitter opted against automatically transferring followers, instead opting to notify users on how to find the new accounts.

Discrepancies in Account Management

Some users have expressed confusion due to how Meta presents these accounts. For instance, if you check the official Presidential account (not Trump’s personal account), Instagram displays a “date joined” of January 2025, causing concern and misunderstanding among users. Although Meta insists these accounts are fluid and managed by the White House, the statement creates ambiguity regarding Trump’s POTUS account. In comparison, the archived account of President Biden shows a data point of January 2021 for both the join and verification dates, suggesting it was created upon his assumption of office.

Meta’s Political Challenges

The root of the issue appears to lie in a lack of clarity, deep-seated polarization, and user grievances toward the platform. There is a pressing need for Meta to communicate effectively that users are following an account subject to change rather than the individual politicians themselves. If someone is uninterested in connecting with the current president or vice president, they should not feel compelled to do so.

This situation presents a broader concern as well: Meta may inadvertently convey partiality toward the new Trump administration. Mark Zuckerberg, a notable figure in tech, was present at the inauguration, which only amplifies perceptions when users discover they are seemingly following the administration without their consent. This occurs in tandem with Meta’s apparent political shift toward the right and a newfound embrace of political content. Earlier this year, both Instagram and Threads updated their algorithms to prioritize political posts in users’ feeds, even from accounts they do not follow. Concurrently, Meta has revised its stance on fact-checking and policies against hate speech.

Amidst discontent among its user base, the revelation that many are unwittingly following politicians they strongly oppose creates a backdrop for current events that see headlines highlighting the supposed compulsion to follow Trump, Vance, Melania, and the Trump White House. A perusal of comments on the POTUS, VPOTUS, and White House accounts reveals widespread discontent among users about their involuntary follow status. (At the moment, FLOTUS has not posted any content.)

Unfollowing Might Take Time

Consequently, unfollowing these accounts may not be a straightforward task. According to Andy Stone, requests to unfollow may experience processing delays, meaning users could face an indefinite period where they continue to see content from these figures.

For those who had been following the previous administration’s accounts, it’s worth noting that those are still retained in their archived form. As archived accounts, there will be no new posts appearing in users’ feeds, leaving the power of decision on whether to remain followed up to individual users.