The coordinated launch received backlash from Bluesky’s user base, which created and shared lists making it easier for others to block all of the administration’s accounts at once. As of Tuesday, a dozen of the 20 most blocked accounts had been created by the Trump administration last week.
The White House account only attracted about 12,000 followers. According to the Bluesky block tracking site Clearsky, more than 100,000 users have had their accounts blocked, making the White House the second most blocked Bluesky user. Vice President JD Vance, who signed up in June, still holds the title of most blocked account, with more than 166,000 users blocking him.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment from WIRED, but the White House official dismissed the criticism. “That’s great. No one can ever say we’re not trying to be transparent or communicate with as many people as possible. That’s the name of the game.”
According to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity to speak freely, the decision to launch all the accounts at once was deliberate. “It’s not like we chose a specific date for any particular reason,” the official told WIRED. “Doing all of this at once feels more like a statement than a piecemeal approach. »
“This is an opportunity for us to reach an important segment of the American population that we have not traditionally reached, even on traditional social media platforms,” the administration official said.
There was also some confusion about the Bluesky vetting process for these agencies, as Trump administration officials reached out to the process on Thursday, sources told WIRED. The administration decided to launch the accounts before receiving Bluesky’s response. According to the White House official, the process was “pretty simple.”
“We welcome the White House and other government agencies to Bluesky,” a Bluesky spokesperson told WIRED. “We contacted them as soon as they registered and verified their accounts.”
Billy McLaughlin, former director of digital content at the White House, defended the administration’s decision to join Bluesky. “The rollout went smoothly, the intro video came together flawlessly, and the digital strategy remains one of the most sophisticated in modern politics,” says McLaughlin.
