Truth Social, the social media network Donald Trump launched after being kicked off of Twitter, has not exactly been the runaway success its backers had clearly hoped. As of late March, “daily active users” were reportedly clocking in at 513,000, compared to Twitter’s roughly 217 million visitors, despite Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Truth Social, boldly claiming it would not only disrupt fellow social media networks, but “Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google” as well. Meanwhile, people who want to use the app appear less than thrilled with the product. “What’s the point of getting the app when you can’t create an account?” reads one App Store review, which continues, “I’ve tried to creat[e] an account about 10 times. It says the[y] have sent me a verification email which I never receive.” Says another: “The app barely functions. Complete propaganda and the spreading of misinformation.
It is becoming a platform for Trump to fund raise for for his lackeys to continue to grift.” In April, two top executives who, sources told Reuters, were “central players” and the “brains” behind the app’s technology, resigned. The would-be merger of Digital World Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company, and Truth Social’s parent company, is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The app is still not available for Android users despite CEO Devin Nunes, who left his job in Congress to run this thing, saying it would be fully operational by the end of March. And after going months without sending a single “truth,” Trump has started to engage a bit more with the network he founded, but at nowhere near the rate he did on Twitter.
And now, the T.S. gang has made its saddest disclosure yet: that anyone on the fence about joining should take comfort in the fact that Trump will likely be posting his “truths” elsewhere within hours and in some cases, before he does on Truth Social. Per New York magazine:
An SEC filing by Digital World Acquisition Corp., the special-purpose-acquisition company attempting to merge with Trump Media & Technology Group and take it public, [has] revealed some interesting details about the SPAC’s deal with Trump. In the document, Digital World Acquisition Corp. lists several business risks related to Trump, who serves as TMTG’s chairman and largest stockholder.
It notes that under the licensing agreement between Trump and TMTG: “President Trump is generally obligated to make any social media post on TruthSocial and may not make the same post on another social media site for 6 hours. Thereafter, he is free to post on any site to which he has access. Thus, TMTG has limited time to benefit from his posts and followers may not find it compelling to use TruthSocial to read his posts that quickly.”
So if Trump were to rejoin Twitter, he’d only have to wait one-fourth of a day to repost his “truths” as tweets. And there are some pretty big exceptions: “In addition, he may make a post from a personal account related to political messaging, political fundraising, or get-out-the-vote efforts on any social media site at any time.” The vague term “political messaging” could be used to describe most of what Trump posts.
In other words, according to the company, if you’re thinking of joining Truth Social for Trump, think about saving yourself a download.
Earlier this month, Elon Musk said that—should he actually buy Twitter—he’d let Trump back on, arguing it was “not correct to ban” him for inciting a violent riot because it “alienated a large part of the country.” For his part, Trump has said that he wouldn’t rejoin Twitter if given the opportunity, a claim even his closest advisers are telling people not to believe.
