What We Can Uncover About Claims of Facebook Users’ Accounts Automatically Following Trump

After President Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, numerous Facebook users reported their accounts automatically followed him. This led to confusion and concern among users who feared they had been added without their consent.

Many social media users took to platforms like Reddit to express their surprise. One user noted, “Just FYI – next time you come online here, make sure to ‘unfollow’ Trump. His account is back here as a page, and somehow I got added automatically.” Such claims suggested a deliberate action by Facebook.

In response to these allegations, the VERIFY team investigated the issue. They discovered several readers, including Connie, voiced similar concerns. The repeated claims led to an inquiry into Facebook’s practices during the transition of power.

Meta, Facebook’s parent company, clarified the situation. Their statement indicated that users were not coerced into following new presidential accounts. Instead, many who reported this issue had previously followed official government pages. Andy Stone, a spokesperson for Meta, explained that the transition of account management is standard procedure during administration changes.

As new administrations begin, the official Facebook accounts for the president, vice president, and first lady are updated. This means followers from the outgoing administration’s accounts transition to the new leadership. For instance, the archive shows that the official POTUS and vice president accounts previously belonged to Biden and Harris before handing over to Trump.

Additionally, VERIFY journalists who did not previously follow these accounts did not face automatic additions on Inauguration Day. Archived evidence demonstrates that these accounts legally change ownership, which coincides with presidential transitions.

This systematic transition practice is not unique to Trump or Biden; it has occurred during past administrations as well. The implications of this process highlight the relationship between social media dynamics and governmental changes.