The Trump administration's social media expansion hit an unexpected snag when the White House became one of Bluesky's most blocked accounts within 48 hours of joining. What started as a political messaging strategy turned into a user revolt, with 91,000 accounts blocking the official White House presence while only 10,000 chose to follow.
The Trump administration thought it found a new battleground for political messaging, but Bluesky users had other plans. When the White House and multiple federal agencies joined the platform Friday with what TechCrunch described as 'trolling' posts about Democrats and the government shutdown, they triggered one of the platform's most dramatic user revolts.
The numbers tell the story. According to ClearSky, which tracks Bluesky's blocking statistics, the White House account has been blocked by approximately 91,000 users while attracting only 10,000 followers. That puts it just behind Vice President JD Vance's account, which holds the dubious honor of being Bluesky's most blocked profile since joining in June.
The administration's approach seemed designed to provoke. In its debut post, the White House account shared a highlight reel 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.' Multiple federal departments followed suit, with accounts for Homeland Security, Commerce, Transportation, Interior, Health and Human Services, State, and others all posting similar political attacks.
The tone struck many as deliberately provocative. The State Department's account posted: '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.' Legal experts have flagged such partisan messaging from government agencies as potentially violating the Hatch Act, which restricts federal employees' political activities.
Bluesky users responded predictably to what they saw as an invasion of their left-leaning digital space. The platform has positioned itself as an alternative to Elon Musk's X, attracting users seeking refuge from that platform's rightward shift. Many responses to the White House posts referenced controversial topics like Trump's past associations, while others took a more direct approach.
