Donald Trump is willing to do anything to get back on social networks. After his Twitter and Facebook accounts have been closed, the only way that seems viable is to create his own platform: Truth Social.
The alternative network will be part of Trump Media and Technology Group (Tmtg), based in Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s club in Palm Beach, which was born from the merger with the Digital World Acquisition Corp and is listed on the stock exchange. Spac Digital World Acquisition Corp is valued at $ 875 million, but it is unclear if the capital has already been raised.
Truth Social was created to “face the tyranny of large technology companies – explained Trump -. We live in a world where the Taliban are very present on Twitter, but the favorite American president has been silenced. This is unacceptable ”. For Trump and his team it is a “media power” that will help in the battle against Big Tech, including Twitter and Facebook, CNN and Disney.
The beta version of Truth Social will be available in November by invitation, but is already in the Apple App Store reserve, according to a release from Tmtg. It is hoped that diffusion in the United States will begin in the first quarter of 2022.
However, there are already those who have managed to enter Truth Social. According to The Washington Post newspaper, “an open registration page allowed anyone to use the site shortly after its disclosure, triggering the creation of the ‘donaldjtrump’ account and the publication of the pig. A Washington Post reporter was able to register and publish under the account name ‘mikepence’ nonstop ”.
Those who have accessed the platform have noticed some unusual rules. For example, there is the right to ban users and safeguard against legal action. Furthermore, “excessive use of capital letters” is prohibited.
“The site looks almost entirely like a Twitter clone – reads the Washington Post -. A user can post Truths, which are like tweets, or Re-Truths, which are retweets. There is also a news feed, called the Truth Feed, a notification system so that users can know who is interacting with their truths ”. The site code shows that it runs a version of Mastodon, the free and open source software launched in 2016, which can be used by anyone running a self-built social platform. Eugen Rochko, founder of Mastodon, told the Washington Post that Trump’s site may violate Mastodon’s licensing rules, which require developers to share any changes and link to the original source code.
Trump announced yesterday that he had earmarked the money for his new company. “An attempt to rejoin the online public conversation – according to The New York Times -. If completed – concludes the American daily -, the agreement could give the new Trump company, called Trump Media and Technology, access to nearly 300 million dollars in money to spend “.
Trump’s TMTG also hopes to launch a video streaming service that would include news, sports, entertainment and documentaries. The goal is to compete with Netflix, Hulu and Disney + and win over the pro-Trump audience who now find themselves in options like Gettr, Gab and Parler, who have tried to win over the pro-Trump audience.
