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Meta is under scrutiny after users, including celebrities like Demi Lovato and Gracie Abrams, accused the platform of automatically refollowing official accounts for President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and First Lady Melania Trump on Instagram.
Abrams voiced her frustration on Instagram, saying she had to unfollow and block the @vp and @potus accounts multiple times, only to see them refollowed automatically.
Lovato also expressed her displeasure, stating on her Instagram story, “I have unfollowed this guy twice today.”
Other users took to social media to alert their followers, with some questioning Meta’s growing alignment with right-wing policies.
Facebook is forcing accounts to follow Donald Trump - users have been reporting.
— Distill Social (@DistillSocial) January 20, 2025
Their latest move reeks of desperation—forcing users to follow Trump is a blatant violation of user autonomy. Zuckerberg’s pandering to political power undermines the very essence of free choice on… pic.twitter.com/pJ0S2zqfPH
Meta has denied the allegations in a vague response, stating that the accounts for the President, Vice President, and First Lady are transitioned with each new administration.
“People were not made to automatically follow any of the official Facebook or Instagram accounts for the President, Vice President, or First Lady,” said Meta's Communication Director Andy Stone on X (formerly Twitter). He added that delays in follow and unfollow requests might occur during the account transition process.
This is not the first time Meta has faced criticism over account transitions. In 2020, the company said it followed a similar process when transferring accounts from the Trump to Biden administration.
The incident comes amid rising liberal concerns over Meta’s recent policy changes. The company has replaced its top policy executive with a Republican, added Trump ally Dana White to its board, and ended third-party fact-checking programmes in the US.
The company has also altered its hateful conduct policies to allow content containing certain controversial references, such as describing 'women as household objects.' Additionally, the company recently shut down its diversity, equity, and inclusion programmes, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg claiming on the Joe Rogan podcast that excessive moderation had eroded trust.
Some argue these changes reflect a shift towards right-wing policies. Zuckerberg, who attended Trump’s inauguration on Monday, has yet to publicly address the backlash.