Meta denies forcing users to follow Trump administration accounts

Meta, the company that owns the social media sites Facebook and Instagram, has refused to force users to follow the accounts of officials in the new Trump administration.

Some users of the platform complained following the inauguration of Donald Trump on Monday that he was “made” to follow the new President, as well as Vice President JD 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 new positions.

“This is what we pursued during the last presidential transition,” he wrote.

The accounts have the handles Potus – which stands for “president of the United States” – as well as Vice President and Flotus, short for the first lady.

Historical site records show the Potus and Flotus accounts previously had the official name and photo of Joe Biden and Jill Biden, respectively.

Mr Stone added that “it can take time for tracking and non-tracking requests to occur as these accounts change”.

Trump became US president for the second time on Monday and quickly began issuing orders and directives that confirmed his agenda – to begin with from the World Health Organization to declare a national emergency on the border with Mexico.

His opening was there some of the top tech billionairesincluding Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg and X CEO Elon Musk, who also has an advisory role in the new administration.

Trump previously criticized Meta, which banned him from running in 2021 for what it said was “glorifying people who commit violence” in the January 6 attacks on the US Capitol.

The president and his allies also accused the company of colluding with Biden’s administration to suppress reports about Biden’s son, Hunter, and other matters related to the Covid pandemic. Mr. Zuckerberg he said he regretted it.

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

Since Trump’s election in early November, Mr. Zuckerberg has seemed to favor him, dining with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago home at the end of the month and and donate $1m (£786,000) to its establishment a few weeks later.

Meta said earlier this month that it would end third-party review in favor of a similar approach to Class X documents, in an attempt to counter Trump’s earlier objections.

The company said this marks a return to its “core commitment to disclosure”.