Has Meta Been Making Its Users Automatically Follow Trump?

Meta has responded to viral claims that some users were “automatically” following the official social media accounts of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance after their inauguration.

The controversy erupted as some users reported that their accounts had suddenly started following the new administration without their consent—while others claimed they were unable to unfollow the accounts.

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The issue first gained traction on platforms like Instagram and Facebook, with multiple users alleging that Meta was pushing political content onto their feeds. Singer Gracie Abrams took to her Instagram Stories to share her frustration, stating, “Had to unfollow @vp and @potus three separate times today because Meta kept automatically refollowing the accounts. How curious! Had to block them in order to make sure I am nowhere near that.”

However, Meta has firmly denied any intentional push to make users follow Trump or Vance. A spokesperson for the company clarified that the transition of these official accounts follows the same process that took place when Joe Biden and Kamala Harris assumed office in 2021.

Image @kamalaharris via Instagram

“People were not made to automatically follow any of the official Facebook or Instagram accounts for the president, vice president, or first lady,” the Meta spokesperson said in a statement. They explained that these accounts are managed by the White House, meaning that once a new administration takes over, the content and ownership change—but existing followers remain.

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“This is the same procedure we followed during the last presidential transition,” the spokesperson added. “It may take some time for follow and unfollow requests to go through as these accounts change hands.”

Despite Meta’s explanation, some users have expressed concerns about the potential influence of such transitions on social media engagement. The debate also arrives at a time when Meta has been rolling out policy changes that better align with the Trump administration’s approach to content moderation and free speech.

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This isn’t the first time social media users have questioned the way platforms handle political accounts. Similar complaints surfaced in 2021 when Biden’s administration took control of the official White House pages, and some Trump supporters claimed they had been forcibly removed as followers.

Image @realdonaldtrump via Instagram

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While Meta’s policy states that existing followers of these government accounts will continue to follow them through different administrations, the company has not provided a clear reason as to why some users appear to have had difficulty unfollowing the new officeholders.

With social media platforms continuing to shape political discourse, this incident underscores the broader conversation about digital influence and how tech giants manage transitions of power in a hyper-connected world.