Message the White House with its new Facebook chat bot

The White House has launched the first ever government chat bot for Facebook Messenger, the administration has announced. You can message the Obama administration through Facebook Messenger with this bot, and there’s a (very small) chance President Obama himself will read it. This follows President Obama’s public response to a Facebook message as a first-ever for any president.

The White House, as you’d expect, receives a load of messages every day over multiple mediums: electronic, snail mail, and phone messages. The President reads some of them, Facebook messages among them, and now it’s easier than ever to send in your own comment. According to a statement from the White House, this bot is part of its goal to “meet the public where they are.” Social media has been a big focal point for the Obama administration.

The White House says President Obama has dedicated himself to reading ten letters everyday from citizens. While there’s a slim chance your own message will be read, it’s a nice gesture toward the public in opening channels of communication.

In addition to announcing the new chat bot, the White House has announced that it has open-sourced a Drupal module to make it easier for developers and other government administrations to launch their own similar connection with citizens. This includes ‘boiler plate code’ and ‘easy steps,’ according to the administration’s Chief Digital Officer Jason Goldman. You’ll need to know how to use Drupal 8, but if you do, it shouldn’t be hard to get your own Facebook Messenger bot up and running.

SOURCE: White House Messenger Bot