The White House Is Now On Snapchat

Snapchat will soon boast more political content thanks to the White House. The administration of the President of the United States has officially joined the short-term messaging app and has started its own Official Story.

According to a White House press release, President Barack Obama’s administration joined Snapchat to engage the app’s nearly 100 million daily active users “in new and creative ways.” The White House’s first-ever Story update was an image of the Oval Office with a waving hand emoji and the caption “Snapchat!” On January 12, 2016, the White House will update its Story again to take followers behind-the-scenes of State of the Union preparations. Obama’s administration will continue to post regular updates to Snapchat in the future, with Obama himself contributing to the account on occasion.

Over the last several years, President Obama’s administration has actively worked to keep up with and get involved in the digital realm. In 2014, Obama invited several well-known YouTube stars like Hannah Hart to the White House to discuss video strategy and youth outreach. Obama was also the first President to have an official POTUS account on Twitter, as well as the first political figure to appear on Crackle’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. As for Michelle Obama, the First Lady is no stranger to Vine and has worked directly with digital celebrities like Tyler Oakley on education and health-based initiatives.

The White House isn’t the only several hundred-year-old entity to join Snapchat recently, either. The Wall Street Journal just launched a channel on Snapchat Discover to try to reach a younger audience, as well. You can catch the White House’s first official Story on Snapchat on January 12 by following the account “WhiteHouse.”