Twitter activates the new @POTUS with zero followers

As promised, Twitter activated new government accounts after Joe Biden took office. Compared to the previous transition (from Obama to Trump), however, there is something new: all @POTUS followers have been eliminated. With the arrival of the new President, the White House website has also been updated, now more accessible.

Twitter deletes the followers of @POTUS

On the occasion of the transition from Obama to Trump in the 2017, Twitter had archived tweets from the @POTUS account in @ POTUS44, leaving all followers. The same procedure for messages was applied with the transition from Trump to Biden, moving them to @ POTUS45, but this time all followers were deleted. The company led by Jack Dorsey has not clarified the reasons for this decision. The @WhiteHouse account has also lost all followers.

Affected users have received a notification and can start following the accounts of the new administration. Right now @POTUS has 4.8 million followers (it was 33 million), while @WhiteHouse has 3.2 million followers (it was 26 million). Vice President Kamala Harris’s @VP account has 7.2 million followers.

The official White House website was also updated with Biden’s inauguration. Now there are two settings that allow you to activate the high-contrast mode (dark mode) and enlarge the characters, two new features that demonstrate a greater attention to accessibility.

The message has also been hidden in the HTML code "If you're reading this, we need your help building back better", followed by the link https://www.usds.gov/apply pointing to the US site Digital Service. The message is therefore addressed to Information Technology experts.

Source: The Verge