Meta: Meta has rejected accusations that Facebook and Instagram users were automatically directed to follow US President Donald Trump's official accounts. After Trump's inauguration on Monday, some users complained that they had automatically been made to follow the new president, as well as Vice President JD Vance and first lady Melania Trump.

According to Anadolu Agency, Meta spokesman Andy Stone stated, "People were not made to automatically follow any of the official Facebook or Instagram accounts for the President, Vice President or First Lady. Those accounts are managed by the White House so with a new administration, the content on those Pages changes." He further explained that this procedure mirrored the one used during the last presidential transition and acknowledged that it might take some time for follow and unfollow requests to be processed as these accounts change hands.

Meta's public affairs director Nkechi Nneji also clarified that the company does not compel users to follow any account. She noted, "People might have forgotten they opted to follow the official White House accounts during previous administrations." Meanwhile, some Instagram users reported being unable to search political terms like "Democrat" and "Republican," which led to further speculation.

Meta attributed the search issues to a technical glitch and assured that it had resolved most problems affecting both political and non-political terms on its platforms. These concerns emerged following changes announced by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, which included ending the company's third-party fact-checking program and reintroducing political content recommendations. Trump's personal Facebook and Instagram accounts, which were suspended after the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack, were reactivated in 2023.