Many Facebook and Instagram users were caught off guard this week to find themselves automatically following accounts of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, following their inauguration. This unexpected action is predominantly due to users having previously followed the official accounts of the U.S. government, specifically the POTUS and White House accounts, which seamlessly transition between administrations.

According to a statement from Meta spokesman Andy Stone, the accounts for the President and Vice President switch over “when the occupant of the White House changes.” As soon as the new administration took office, the old administration's accounts were archived, preserving their followers and posts for posterity. As of the latest reports, both President Biden’s and Trump’s archived POTUS accounts retained around 11 million followers each on Facebook, illustrating the significant user engagement and interest.

After the inauguration, users were startled to discover posts on their feeds from Trump’s official account stating “promises made, promises kept,” alongside images of Vice President Vance's first days in office. The surprise led to widespread confusion among many users, prompting discussions within social circles about this follow domination. Some users speculated that Meta, as the parent company of both platforms, was coercively prompting these follows.

However, former Facebook employee Katie Harbath clarified that this is a standard protocol for transitioning social media accounts during a change in administration. “The old social media accounts go to an archived account and the followers remain, but the feed is wiped clean. Most platforms handle it this way,” she noted on Threads.

For those uncomfortable with this unwarranted follow, removing Trump and Vance’s accounts can be accomplished easily through profile settings by selecting the options to unfollow or block. Meta’s practices around political social media accounts are under scrutiny, particularly as they align with controversies surrounding other shifts in policy that have raised questions about the neutrality of platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

For further information, read the full articles on HuffPost and AP News.