Former US President Donald Trump has launched his own social media app Truth Social which he said will challenge big technology companies such as Twitter and Facebook, which have excluded him from their platforms. Trump said his goal is to create a rival to “big tech” companies like Facebook and Twitter, who have prevented him from launching Trump Media and Technology Group and its Truth Social App. The new project is one of the most prestigious projects in a larger ecosystem of MAGA-friendly technology and social media platforms that has blossomed on the right, fueled by a sense that big tech is trying to prevent conservative and pro-Trump ideologies from spreading.
Former US president Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he would create a new media company with his own social media platform after being suspended from Twitter and suspend from Facebook after a group of his supporters stormed the US Capitol. According to a press release from the company, the former media company of former US President Donald Trump, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) announced on Wednesday that it would launch its own “social media platform,” Truth Social.
Trump announced the move after months of speculation about his plans to start his own media operations after major social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube banned him or suspended him for violating their policies. In January, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter blocked the account of the former US president Donald Trump for political violations after his supporters stormed the Capitol in Washington and clashed with police.
Trump, who used Twitter as a specific rhetorical weapon during his presidency, has been looking for ways to regain his preferred Twitter account as his Internet megaphone and has launched several lawsuits against tech giants that he claims censor him. In October, he asked a federal judge to force Twitter to reset his account. Following his supporters stormed the Capitol during the riots on January 6, Trump was barred from the largest social media platforms – Twitter, Facebook and YouTube – amid concerns that his continued presence on social media could incite more violence.
In May he launched a blog named The Desk that Donald J. Trump touted as an important new outlet for the Internet, but later withdrew. When former Trump adviser Jason Miller launched a social network called Gettr earlier this year, Trump did not join it.
As president, Mr. Trump was an avid social media user who posted foreign policy diatribes and took aim at his rivals. In the past, he has been a strong presence on Twitter, attacking critics and spreading breaking news about his government. But his profile has changed since he tweeted that posts were marked as fake news.
An earlier attempt to start a blog on Trump’s existing website was abandoned after it drew gloomy reviews. GetTRs latest attempt to replicate its Twitter feed on a page called The Desk, which mocked Donald Trump as nothing more than a blog that received no web traffic, was shut down after less than a month. Previous attempts to launch the blog were abandoned after the site had bad views.
In addition to the Truth Social app which is expected to start up in a smooth start next month ahead of a national rollout next year, the company says it also plans a video-on-demand service called TMTG, which will offer entertainment programs, news and podcasts. In addition to Truth Social, the social media app is expected to get off to a “soft start” next month before being rolled out in the US early next year. The company also said it has plans for a video-on-demand service called TMTG that will include entertainment programs, news and podcasts.
TMTG also takes aim at Trump’s former favorite social networks. A slide in the TMTG presentation on its website includes graphics of the company’s potential competitors, ranging from Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, Disney and CNN. The slide also suggests that the company could become a force in cloud computing and payments in the long run, suggesting that there could be a head-to-head race with Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Stripe.
A company representative declined to name anyone who would confirm the contents of the TMTG release to Reuters. A Trump official also declined to name people who confirmed the contents.
Trump’s former spokesman Jason Miller is leading the platform, he confirmed in a text. Former Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh is also involved as an adviser to the company.
His longtime adviser Jason Miller defended himself via the app in a written statement against the rumors that he would join his own social media company – Gettr : “I am not in any form, shape or form on any social media platform, including Parliamentarians. Trump’s involvement with the platform is unclear, as is whether he set up an account on the platform or used it for Getttr. Trump and his advisers have indicated since leaving office that he is considering competing with platforms like Facebook and Twitter, even though both companies suspended his account after the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
Truth Social can be ordered from Apple’s App Store, but there is no sign it will hit Android – which is logical given that Trump is currently trying to sue Google.
According to a press release, Truth Social is currently available only from the Apple App Store for pre-order, with a beta version available from November 2023. A nationwide rollout is anticipated in the first quarter of 2023, the press release said. A beta version will be available for invited guests in November, according to the announcement.
The new social media platform Truth Social plans to launch in November its invitation only beta, with a broader rollout planned in the US for early 2023. Truth Social is the first of three stages in the company’s plans to follow in this direction with a subscription-based video-on-demand service called TMTG that will provide entertainment, news and podcasts, according to the press release. It is also the first venture by Trump Media & Technology Group, which announced its merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp. ahead of the upcoming IPO.
