Home   >   News   >   U.S.   >   President Obama launches Facebook page

President Obama launches Facebook page

November 9, 2015
The screen image from Facebook.com shows the Facebook page of President Barack Obama. Obama wants you to like him. And comment on him. And share his posts, too. The president now has his own personal Facebook page. "President Obama, public figure" went live Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. (Facebook.com via AP)

The screen image from Facebook.com shows the Facebook page of President Barack Obama. Obama wants you to like him. And comment on him. And share his posts, too. The president now has his own personal Facebook page. “President Obama, public figure” went live Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. (Facebook.com via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama wants you to like him. And comment on him. And share his posts, too.

Obama launched his own personal Facebook page Monday, in a fresh attempt from the social media-savvy president to spread his message through nontraditional channels.

“President Obama, public figure” was quickly welcomed to the world of likes, long-lost friends and baby photos. Obama gained more than 200,000 likes in the first three hours his page was live. Among the early commenters were Facebook’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandburg, Katie Couric and Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass.

Obama has long had a Twitter account, and his political campaigns have run a Facebook page under his name for years. “Barack Obama, politician” is still run by an iteration of that political operation, Organizing for Action.

The new page, however, is aimed at casting Obama a regular guy, not a politician. In his inaugural video post, Obama gives a small tour of his “backyard” at the White House, noting he often sees a fox on the grounds, a hawk named Lincoln and other “critters.” Obama then works in a plug for his work fighting climate change and asks for support in trying to “preserve this beautiful planet of ours” for future generations.

In his biography, Obama describes himself as “Dad, husband, and 44th President of the United States.” But the ordinary guy routine ends there: The page also notes that comments and messages may be archived according to the Presidential Records Act.