Bluesky Explains Why JD Vance Was Briefly Suspended From Platform [View all]

Source: Newsweek

Published Jun 18, 2025 at 9:55 PM EDT


Social media website Bluesky issued a statement Wednesday explaining why Vice President JD Vance was briefly suspended from the platform earlier in the day.

The Context

Bluesky was launched in February 2023, months after Elon Musk bought X, formerly Twitter, and has a layout similar to Twitter's. The social media website is widely popular among liberals and has more than 36 million users as of this month. Vance sent out his first post on Bluesky at 4:50 p.m. ET Wednesday, writing: "Hello Bluesky, I've been told this app has become the place to go for common sense political discussion and analysis. So I'm thrilled to be here to engage with all of you." Less than half an hour later, Vance's account was suspended from the platform.

What To Know

In a statement to Newsweek Wednesday evening, a spokesperson for the platform said Vance's account was removed because Bluesky's system flagged it as a potential impostor. "Vice President Vance's account was briefly flagged by our automated systems that try to detect impersonation attempts which have targeted public figures like him in the past," Bluesky said in its statement.

"The account was quickly restored and verified so people can easily confirm its authenticity." "We welcome the Vice President to join the conversation on Bluesky," the company said. Bluesky told Fox News that Vance's account was reinstated within 20 minutes of its suspension and that a verified badge has been added to it to "help users confirm the authenticity of the profile."

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/bluesky-explains-jd-vance-suspension-2087685