Meta responds after Instagram users claim they were forced to follow Trump

Meta has denied user complaints about being forced to follow accounts of the new Trump administration, stating no automatic follows occurred

Social networking giant Meta has denied complaints from some users that they are being forced to follow accounts belonging to the new administration of US President Donald Trump.

Social networking giant Meta has denied complaints from some users that they are being forced to follow accounts belonging to the new administration of US President Donald Trump (REUTERS/Yves Herman)

Accounts belonging to Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and Vice President JD Vance "are managed by the White House so with a new administration, the content on those pages changes," Meta spokesman Andy Stone posted on X on Wednesday.

"People were not made to automatically follow any of the official Facebook or Instagram accounts" around the change in government, Stone added.

The same process had happened during the last presidential transition in 2021, he said.

"It may take some time for follow and unfollow requests to go through as these accounts change hands," he added in response to some users' complaints they were unable to stop following the new administration.

The complaints follow sustained efforts by Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg to stay in Trump's good graces since his November election victory.

Zuckerberg, who attended Trump's inauguration ceremony Monday, has dined with the new president, named several of his allies to key roles and ended programmes targeted by conservatives, including shutting off Meta's fact-checking efforts in the US.