What happens to Obama's social media accounts now that Trump is president?

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Donald Trump Obama

Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS

Trump and Obama shake hands in the Oval Office.

Obama is our first "social media president". During his administration, the White House got a Twitter account, he went live on Facebook, he posted videos on YouTube, and his own personal twitter, @POTUS, broke records

But when any presidency comes to an end, there is a transition period. And as Obama said Wednesday, he wants to "make sure there is a successful transition between our presidencies." That includes transitioning the social media accounts. 

At the end of October, the White House published this blog explaining just how this social media transition is going to happen. 

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On Jan. 20, Trump officially takes over the presidency. He will also officially take over all the social media accounts. 

Before he does that, all the Obama administration posts will be archived on special social media accounts created by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

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So for instance, all the tweets currently available on the @POTUS Twitter account will be available on @POTUS44 starting on Jan. 20. Trump will take over @POTUS. He will retain all 11 million followers, however the page will be completely blank. 

They plan to do the same with Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and so on.

So if you're worried about what's going to happen to all those hours of Obama/Biden videos or all of @FLOTUS' tweets, have no fear! They will be available forever. And if his presidency is anything like his campaign, we have four more years of Trump tweets to look forward to. 

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