Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, U.S., February 28, 2021. /CFP
Donald Trump's new social media venture, Truth Social, launched late on Sunday in Apple's App Store, potentially marking the former president's return to social media after he was banned from several platforms last year.
The app was available to download shortly before midnight ET and was automatically downloaded to Apple Inc devices belonging to users who had pre-ordered the app.
Some users reported either having trouble registering for an account or were added to a waitlist with a message: "Due to massive demand, we have placed you on our waitlist." The app has been available for people invited to use it during its test phase.
Trump was banned from Twitter Inc, Facebook and Alphabet Inc's YouTube following the January 6, 2021，attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters, after he was accused of posting messages inciting violence.
Led by former Republican U.S. Representative Devin Nunes, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the venture behind Truth Social, joins a growing portfolio of technology companies that are positioning themselves as champions of free speech and hope to draw users who feel their views are suppressed on more established platforms.
So far none of the newer companies, which include Twitter competitors Gettr and Parler and video site Rumble, have come close to matching the popularity of their mainstream counterparts.
"This week we will begin to roll out on the Apple App Store. That's going to be awesome, because we're going to get so many more people that are going to be on the platform," Nunes said in a Sunday appearance on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo."
"Our goal is, I think we're going to hit it, I think by the end of March we're going to be fully operational at least within the United States," he added.
TMTG is planning to list in New York through a merger with blank-check firm Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC) and stands to receive $293 million in cash that DWAC holds in a trust, assuming no DWAC shareholder redeems their shares, TMTG said in an October 21 press release.
Additionally, in December TMTG raised $1 billion committed financing from private investors; that money also will not be available until the DWAC deal closes.
Digital World's activities have come under scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, according to a regulatory filing, and the deal is likely months away from closing.
