Overview

• The White House joined Bluesky on Friday with a trolling “greatest hits” reel featuring memes, a doctored image of Hakeem Jeffries in a sombrero, and a gag about renaming the Gulf of Mexico.
• Within roughly 48 hours, analytics firm ClearSky estimated the account was blocked by about 91,000 users and followed by around 10,000, placing it among the platform’s most-blocked profiles.
• Federal departments including Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, State, Transportation, Commerce, Interior, and a so-called Department of War launched accounts that criticized Democrats over the government shutdown.
• Legal experts cited in coverage said agency posts such as the State Department’s shutdown message likely run afoul of the Hatch Act’s limits on partisan activity by federal employees.
• Bluesky’s largely left-leaning users responded with widespread blocking and hostile replies as the site, smaller than X, continues to attract attention after Elon Musk’s 2022 takeover, with Vice President J.D. Vance’s June account still heavily blocked after an initial impersonation flag was reversed.