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The @POTUS account on Twitter at the moment has 33 million followers. On Jan. 20, Inauguration Day, that quantity may drop. President-elect Joe Biden won’t mechanically inherit the followers of the earlier administration when he formally takes management of the account on the favored social media platform, Twitter mentioned Tuesday.
The firm can even switch the @WhiteHouse, @VP, @FLOTUS, @PressSec, @Cabinet, and @LaCasaBlanca to the Biden administration on Inauguration Day.
“The accounts will not automatically retain their existing followers. Instead, Twitter will notify followers of these accounts to provide context that the content will be archived and allow them the choice to follow the Biden administration’s new accounts,” Twitter mentioned in a press release. “For example, people who follow @WhiteHouse will be notified that the account has been archived as @WhiteHouse45 and given the option to follow the new @WhiteHouse account.”
That could be a reversal of what occurred in 2016, when Trump’s incoming administration inherited the @POTUS account from President Barack Obama, full with thousands and thousands of followers. Twitter confirmed final month that Biden will get the rights to the deal with @POTUS, which stands for president of the United States, whether or not or not Donald Trump concedes by Jan. 20.
Social media is a approach for individuals, together with the president, to immediately broadcast a message to a considerable amount of individuals on-line. Twitter’s resolution to not mechanically switch followers might restrict the variety of individuals the upcoming administration will have the ability to attain on-line. Biden’s crew is not pleased with Twitter’s alternative.
Rob Flaherty, the digital director for Biden’s presidential marketing campaign, mentioned in a tweet Tuesday that Twitter advised Biden’s transition crew that “as of right now the Biden administration will have to start from zero” when the @POTUS and @WhiteHouse accounts are transferred. In one other tweet, Flaherty mentioned Biden’s crew pushed again in opposition to the concept however was “told this was unequivocal.”
The Wall Street Journal, citing individuals acquainted with the matter, additionally reported the difficulty was a “sticking point” that arose in a gathering final week. During the 2017 switch of the White House Twitter accounts, there have been some hiccups within the course of, together with technical glitches and complaints from customers, in response to the report.
Biden’s transition crew did not instantly reply to a request for remark.
(This story has not been edited by Newslivenation workers and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)