diff --git a/lib/shared/thread-utils.js b/lib/shared/thread-utils.js
--- a/lib/shared/thread-utils.js
+++ b/lib/shared/thread-utils.js
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@
   permissionsToBitmaskHex,
   threadPermissionsFromBitmaskHex,
 } from '../permissions/minimally-encoded-thread-permissions.js';
+import { specialRoles } from '../permissions/special-roles.js';
 import {
   permissionLookup,
   getAllThreadPermissions,
@@ -363,12 +364,15 @@
     makePermissionsBlob(permissions, null, threadID, threadType),
     threadID,
   );
-  const role: RoleInfo = minimallyEncodeRoleInfo({
-    id: `${threadID}/role`,
-    name: 'Members',
-    permissions,
-    isDefault: true,
-  });
+  const role: RoleInfo = {
+    ...minimallyEncodeRoleInfo({
+      id: `${threadID}/role`,
+      name: 'Members',
+      permissions,
+      isDefault: true,
+    }),
+    specialRole: specialRoles.DEFAULT_ROLE,
+  };
 
   const rawThreadInfo: RawThreadInfo = {
     minimallyEncoded: true,