Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is facing backlash as users claim they were forced to follow official accounts of the new Trump administration after Trump's inauguration on Monday. Complaints emerged that users found themselves "automatically" following President Trump, Vice-President JD Vance, and First Lady Melania Trump.
Meta spokesperson Andy Stone stated that the accounts are governed by the White House, which updated them to reflect new leadership. "This is the same procedure we followed during the last presidential transition," he noted, emphasizing that users may experience delays in following or unfollowing as accounts change hands.
Archived records show that the accounts previously represented Joe Biden and Jill Biden. Shortly after taking office, Trump wasted no time in issuing several executive orders, including withdrawing from the World Health Organization and declaring a national emergency at the southern border.
Interestingly, Trump's inauguration attracted many tech billionaires, including Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and X CEO Elon Musk. Once a critic of Meta, Trump has since established a rapport with Zuckerberg, even dining at Mar-a-Lago and receiving a generous donation for his inauguration.
In light of past criticisms regarding censorship, Meta announced it would dismantle its third-party fact-checking system in favor of a model similar to X's community notes, in an effort to reaffirm its commitment to free expression in the digital space.
