By Natalie Mojica
Trump’s long-awaited social media platform, Truth Social, launched in the U.S. App Store on Feb. 21. As many as 150,000 users signed up, while others were placed on a waitlist as glitches and error messages prevented them from registering.
Self-described as a “big tent” social media platform “that encourages an open, free, and honest global conversation without discriminating against political ideology.” The app also uses artificial intelligence to moderate its content to abide by a family-friendly guideline.
Owned by Trump Media & Technology Group and spearheaded by former Republican congressman Devin Nunes, Truth Social was inspired by Trump being kicked off other social media platforms following the Jan. 6 riot. The new platform continues Trump’s passion for directly communicating with constituents on social media as he did during his presidency, often causing controversy by posting to Twitter without oversight.
“Our main goal here is to give people their voice back,” Nunes said Sunday on Fox News.
According to Nunes, the app offers “the opposite of some Silicon Valley tech oligarch freak telling people what they want to think and deciding who can or cannot be on the platform,” and will be fully operational in the United States by the end of March.
Trump had approximately 88 million followers on Twitter and 35 million on Facebook when he was suspended from both platforms, evidence of an extensive global reach.
“After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them—specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter—we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” Twitter said.
Donald Trump Jr. expressed his support of the new platform on Twitter, posting a picture of Trump’s first on Truth Social, which read, “Get Ready! Your favorite President will see you soon!” Posts on the platform are called “truths,” while sharing posts is known as “truths,”
Truth Social is evidence of a growing market for apps that cater to a more conservative audience. A week ago, Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, announced his investment into “The Right Stuff,” a dating app that appeals to conservatives who live in liberal-leaning cities. Other social media platforms for conservative users include Gettr and Rumble. Gettr presents another right-wing alternative to Twitter, while Rumble is designed as an alternative to YouTube.
