The Federal Reserve has announced that it is expanding its presence on social media by opening accounts on Instagram and Threads. The aim of this move is to engage with a wider audience and provide more accessible and available information about the agency. The Instagram account will feature photos, videos, FAQs, economic education content, and more, while the Threads account will include press releases, speeches, testimony, reports, and other regular content from the Board’s X account, previously known as Twitter. This expansion comes in addition to the Fed’s existing accounts on platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, and LinkedIn.
The Fed’s first Instagram post was a reel featuring Chair Jerome Powell explaining the agency’s mission and promising to continue sharing material that explains how the Fed’s decisions impact everyday Americans. Subsequent posts included photos of Powell’s visit to York, Pennsylvania, where he met with local business owners and discussed concerns about inflation and high operating costs. Powell highlighted that many of the challenges faced by the US economy, such as staff shortages in healthcare, are connected to the response to the COVID-19 crisis.
Although the Federal Reserve already has a significant social media presence, it notably does not have a profile on TikTok, a platform owned by Chinese company ByteDance. TikTok has faced scrutiny and concerns related to national security due to its ties to Beijing. While the Fed’s social media expansion aims to promote accessibility and information sharing, officials have indicated that they expect interest rates to remain high for a considerable period to control inflation. Fed Governor Michelle Bowman specifically mentioned that inflation is still too high and the Fed may need to raise rates further and maintain a restrictive level for some time.
