Some Meta users said that they believed they were forced to follow Donald Trump and JD Vance’s pages, and that Instagram was blocking searches for the #democrat hashtag.

It said follow and unfollow requests may take time as the accounts switch hands to the new Trump administration.

In the days since Donald Trump assumed office, many people online have begun expressing alarm to find they were unwittingly following Trump on Instagram and Facebook.

Social media users, including celebrities such as singers Demi Lovato and Gracie Abrams, are posting complaints that Meta won’t let them unfollow President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and first lady Melania Trump on Instagram.

After President Donald Trump’s swearing in Monday, numerous Facebook and Instagram users discovered — to their horror and dismay — that they were somehow following not only Trump but also Vice President JD Vance,

Meta denies that Instagram and Facebook users were forced to follow Donald Trump and JD Vance after the inauguration.

Some Meta social media users said on Wednesday that their accounts re-followed the profiles of President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and first lady Melania Trump after they had unfollowed those accounts once Trump took office for his second term.

The followers for both accounts rapidly increased after Mr Trump acquired the @POTUS Instagram handle and Mr Vance was assigned the @VP handle. Many people have complained on social media that they never followed the politicians in the first place.

Some Facebook and Instagram users were surprised to find themselves automatically following the accounts of President Donald Trump or Vice President JD Vance.

Republican Donald Trump was inaugurated as president on Monday, succeeding Democrat Joe Biden. Yet on Thursday, the Meta AI chatbot was still saying that Biden was president, according to the source and to a Reuters test of the service. Asked by Reuters on Thursday to name the president, Meta AI replied:

Meta is under fire as users, including celebrities, report being unable to unfollow Trump accounts on Instagram