As Joe Biden was sworn in as President of the United States, this significant political transition was also reflected on popular social media. On January 20, Biden and his team gained access to a long list of official government accounts on popular social media platforms, including the @POTUS on Twitter. With the push of a button, the Biden administration inherited a “digital megaphone” with the ability to report news and shape the public image of the American government.
The transfer of these official accounts, which include not only those representing Biden and the White House but nearly every branch of government, has emerged as a significant aspect of the broader transition of power, especially after Twitter became the favored online platform of former President Donald Trump.
Trump used his personal Twitter account , @realdonaldtrump , to make major policy announcements, but also to provoke, launching various attacks and spreading misinformation . His account was permanently deleted earlier this month, following incidents of violence on Capitol Hill by his supporters.
In addition to the @POTUS, which was created during the Obama administration, Twitter moved the @WhiteHouse, @VP, @FLOTUS and @PressSec to the new administration. Twitter also created a new account, @SecondGentleman, for Doug Emhoff, husband of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
This is the second such transition between U.S. presidential administrations to be reflected on Twitter. Unlike the transition four years ago, the Biden administration did not inherit the tens of millions of followers on each account. Instead, people on Twitter who previously followed official White House Twitter accounts or who currently follow “related” Biden or Harris accounts are receiving in-app and other notifications about the archiving process and the option to follow the new accounts.
It is worth noting that as of the evening of January 19, the @POTUS account has approximately 33 million followers, while the @FLOTUS and @VP accounts have 16 million and 10 million, respectively.
Twitter's approach contrasts with other social media platforms, such as Snapchat and YouTube, which have said the Biden administration would maintain existing followers on their respective White House accounts.
Facebook and its subsidiary, Instagram , moved accounts on both platforms, such as the POTUS and FLOTUS Facebook pages and the White House Instagram account, to Biden’s team. Those platforms also doubled the number of followers on Joe Biden’s Facebook page and Instagram account to the official POTUS page and account .
While Biden's team may not inherit all of his Twitter followers, it won't be starting completely from scratch. @Transition46 Twitter account became @WhiteHouse, @PresElectBiden became @POTUS, @SenKamalaHarris became @VP, @FLOTUSBiden became @FLOTUS and @PressSecPsaki became @PressSec.
