June 20, 2025

Social media watch: the US is trawling for “subversive” posts

THE Trump administration is to vet the social media accounts of applicants who apply for visas to study at institutions of higher learning, receive vocational training or take part in exchange programmes in America as US embassies around the world resume issuing such visas.

The diplomatic missions will ask student visa applicants to “make their social media accounts public for enhanced screening”.

They have been “instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to ‘public’.”

A US State Department statement said: “We use all available information in our visa screening and vetting to identify visa applicants who are inadmissible to the United States, including those who pose a threat to US national security. 

“Under new guidance, we will conduct a comprehensive and thorough vetting, including online presence, of all student and exchange visitor applicants in the F, M, and J non-immigrant classifications.”

The statement added: “Every visa adjudication is a national security decision. 

“The United States must be vigilant during the visa issuance process to ensure that those applying for admission into the United States do not intend to harm Americans and our national interests, and that all applicants credibly establish their eligibility for the visa sought, including that they intend to engage in activities consistent with the terms for their admission.”

According to Open Doors, which gathers data on foreign students, there were over 1.1 million international students from over 210 countries enrolled in US colleges in the 2023-24 academic year.