Bluesky, a social media platform popularly used by liberals, temporarily suspended Vice President JD Vance’s account because it was concerned that someone was masquerading as him.
“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,” the company told the Washington Examiner. “The account was quickly restored and verified, so people can easily confirm its authenticity.”
The brief suspension occurred on Wednesday, the same day Vance announced he joined Bluesky, a known competitor to Elon Musk’s X.
“Hello Bluesky, I’ve been told this app has become the place to go for common sense political discussion and analysis,” Vance said in his first post to the platform. “So I’m thrilled to be here to engage with all of you.”
However, less than half an hour after his 4:50 p.m. post, Vance’s account went dark, prompting outcry and derision from some Republicans who accused Bluesky of banning the vice president due to his conservative views.
Looks like Vance’s account has been suspended on BlueSky not long after he set it up: https://t.co/EYaoC4XnfI pic.twitter.com/IllS0t5Nf0
— Ross O’Keefe (@RossOKeefe2) June 18, 2025
“Bluesky banned VP JD Vance 20 minutes after he joined the platform … The libs at Bluesky are so triggered,” the right-wing Libs of TikTok account posted on X.
Before Bluesky quickly restored Vance’s account, some of his critics also questioned the suspension.
“I can’t stand JD Vance. But suspending the sitting vice president is exactly why Bluesky is unserious & doomed to fail,” commentator Billy Binion said.
AOC BECOMES FIRST ON BLUESKY WITH A MILLION FOLLOWERS
Bluesky reassured critics on Wednesday that the suspension was not intended to target Vance but to ensure someone impersonating him was not able to create a fake account.
“We welcome the Vice President to join the conversation on Bluesky,” the platform said.
Ross O’Keefe contributed to this article.