In the ever-confusing age of AI and social media, deceased politicians are continuing to post long after they have passed on, Politico reported on Saturday.
While many suspect that social media accounts of public figures are run by someone other than who is assigned a blue check mark, having fully active accounts well after someone has died has only added to the suspicion. The outlet compiled several examples of well-known lawmakers commenting on current events weeks or even a year after their death. Following the surprise showing of Zohran Mamdani in this week’s Democratic primary for mayor of New York City, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas liked an Instagram post that had congratulated Mamdani. Lee died almost a year ago in July of 2024.
Rep. Sylvester Turner, another Texas Democrat who briefly replaced Lee before his own death in March of this year, updated his profile picture almost a month following his own passing. Turner posted a “Happy #OpeningDay!” on X to celebrate the start of Major League Baseball almost three weeks after he had passed. Likewise, former Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., continued to post on social media a few weeks after his death in support of his former chief of staff James Walkinshaw's run for office.
Zack Brown, who was the communications director for former Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, lamented that there is no official protocol for how to respectfully wind down a deceased politician’s accounts. Young, who passed away in March of 2022 while in office, was an early example of the need for a procedure.
“When a member of Congress dies, nobody seems to care about getting the log-ins from you, or assuming control of the Facebook page,” Brown told the outlet. “I still, if I wanted to, could go post to Facebook as Congressman Young — I could still tweet today as Congressman Young. And nobody from archives or records or from House administration, or anybody, seems to give a s**t.”
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