White House is one of Bluesky's most blocked accounts
What's the story
The Donald Trump administration has taken its social media campaign against Democratic opponents to an unexpected platform, Bluesky. The White House and several other government agencies joined the platform. The move appears to be part of a strategy to provoke reactions from users, rather than engage in direct dialogue. The response has been largely negative. In less than 48 hours after joining, the White House has become one of the most blocked accounts on Bluesky.
Initial post
White House posts Trump memes on Bluesky
The White House's first post on Bluesky was a montage of Trump footage and memes, with the message, "What's up, Bluesky? We thought you might've missed some of our greatest hits, so we put this together for you." Other government agencies followed suit by creating new accounts on the platform and posting messages criticizing Democrats over the ongoing government shutdown.
Agency posts
Other government agencies join the fun
Among the government agencies that joined Bluesky were the Department of Homeland Security, Commerce, Transportation, Interior, Health and Human Services, State, and Defense Departments. All these departments posted messages in a light-hearted tone criticizing Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown. The Department of State even wrote, "We heard this is a great place to have an open and honest dialogue so we're here to talk about how the Democrat shutdown is undermining our country on the world stage."
User reactions
Users bring up Trump's ties with Jeffrey Epstein
Bluesky users reacted to the White House's post by bringing up Trump's ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Onion CEO Ben Collins said, "The reason they're coming after this place is because they can't control the people on it and it drives them nuts." Despite the backlash, some right-wing accounts boasted about following the Trump administration on Bluesky and getting widely blocked.
Blocking stats
White House one of the most blocked accounts on Bluesky
According to ClearSky, which tracks blocking stats on the platform, the White House account is blocked by 92,000 accounts while being followed by 10,000. The only account blocked more by Bluesky users is that of Vice President JD Vance who joined in June.