Internet weighs in as Kristi Noem deletes two state-affiliated social media accounts over holiday weekend

PIERRE, SOUTH DAKOTA: South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem mysteriously deleted two state-affiliated social media accounts over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

The Republican governor's @govkristinoem X account and her Gov Noem Facebook account disappeared over Independence Day, according to a review of the now inoperative pages. Her defunct X (formerly Twitter) account shows, "This account doesn't exist," meanwhile the Facebook account states, "This content isn't available right now."

The now-deleted accounts had a combined 750,000 followers on X and likes on Facebook, as per local news outlet Sioux Falls Live.

"So when did Gov Noem delete her official Governor Kristi Noem fb page???????" inquired a user on July 4 within a private Facebook group centered on South Dakota.

Kristi Noem's office does not explain why the accounts were deleted

The reason behind the accounts' deactivation remains unclear, as the South Dakota governor's office refused to answer the inquiries.

While responding to Sioux Falls Live, Noem's office directed to a new account on X named Office of Governor Noem.

"For official updates from the Governor's Office, including press releases, follow @GovNoemOffice on X," her spokesperson Ian Fury said to the local outlet.

The account created this month has only a few postings of press releases from Noem's office starting from July 3.

Weighing in on the disappearance of two state-affiliated accounts, Republican state Rep Tony Venhuizen said he was unaware of the reasons behind the move but added multiple X and Facebook accounts for elected officials were common.

"On a political or personal account, you can offer an opinion or promote campaign events, whereas on the official account, you're going to be providing information about the action of state government, disaster response and any other number of things," Venhuizen said. "Generally, it's a good idea to separate those."

The Republican's personal X account @KristiNoem and  Facebook account remain active as of July 7.

The South Dakota governor recently drew flak for an excerpt in her newly released memoir 'No Going Back: The Truth on What's Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward'. Her narration of how she killed her 14-month-old pet dog Cricket more than two decades ago was met with criticism, but Noem defended herself, claiming the dog was aggressive, which led her to put it down.

Internet offers varied reasons for Kristi Noem's social media account deactivation

Netizens speculated about the reasons why Noem deleted her official accounts. While some put the blame on the dog-killing controversy, another bunch claimed she was going to be Donald Trump's running mate.

"About to create VP accounts?" Asked a user.

"I guess she took them to the gravel pit," another joked, referring to her puppy-killing fiasco.

"Gov. Noem's social media deletions raise eyebrows. Is this a veepstakes strategy? Transparency is key, but so is smart positioning. Strong leaders plan ahead," added a user.

"You mean the ones where she bragged about shotgunning that poor puppy? Kristi, you really shot yourself in the foot, didn’t you?" read one response.

"Horribly irresponsible," another user chimed in.

"Her political career is over that’s why," a user commented on Facebook.

"She's too busy killing dogs to post on social media," an individual remarked.

"She doesn't need to give an explanation!!" someone else claimed.

"She probably of tired of the dog 'jokes'. I know I am. She did what she had to do for safety reasons," another user opined.

"It’s not a law she has to keep it. It’s her business," read a remark.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.