Yahoo Movies Trump Says He’s Launching His Own Social Media Network Called Truth Social
Donald Trump said that he’s launching a new social media service, Truth Social, through a newly formed company called Trump Media and Technology Corp.
Truth Social will have a nationwide rollout in the first quarter of 2022, with a beta launch next month, according to a press release.
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According to the announcement, the company also intends a subscription video on demand service, TMTG+, that will feature “non-woke” entertainment programming. There have been whispers about former President Donald Trump starting his own social media platform in the nine months since he was banned from Twitter.
The new company is being launched via a merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp., with Trump Media and Technology Corp. as a publicly listed company subject to regulatory and shareholder approval. Digital World is what is known as a special purpose acquisition company, which are set up for the sole purpose of merging with another entity for an initial public offering. Digital World was founded on December 11 of last year and is headquartered in Miami, FL, according to MarketWatch.
According to the announcement, the company’s mission is to “create a rival to the liberal media consortium and fight back against the Big Tech companies of Silicon Valley, which have used their unilateral power to silence opposing voices in America.” Trump has been trying to establish a new social media platform since he was sidelined from Twitter and Facebook, as well as other platforms, after the January 6 insurrection. Twitter cited Trump’s posts as violating its policy against the glorification of violence.
But the major platforms have denied that they have a bias against conservative voices, even though it is a favorite talking point on the right. Right-wing figures, meanwhile, routinely dominate the lists of most popular Facebook posts.
“I created Truth Social and TMTG to stand up to the tyranny of Big Tech,” Trump said. But that may be easier said than done.
Parler — a platform that launched last year to praise from Trump and other conservative media stars, had some genuine momentum — but because it allowed advocacy for violence promotion of the January attack on the U.S. Capitol, Apple removed Parler from the App Store. Google did the same in its store. Amazon booted the platform from its Web Services, effectively making access to the platform through an online browser impossible.
Patrick Orlando, the chairman and CEO of Digital World Acquisition Corp., said that they have “$293 million in trust, assuming minimal redemptions, which can fuel TMTG’s scale up, including to provide world class leading technology services to build strong and secure social networks and diverse media offerings.”
The press release also announced that Scott St. John would serve as leader of TMTG+ corporate operations. St. John has been executive producer of Deal of No Deal, America’s Got Talent and other game shows.
In May, Trump launched a blog that gave users the ability to share his postings on their own accounts. But with low traffic, it was ended after less than a month. His spokesperson, Liz Harrington, has been tweeting out most of his latest statements.
Truth Social has a page for users to sign up for a waiting list. It also includes a terms of service that include a long list of prohibited activities, including using content from the site to “harass, abuse, or harm another person.” Users also have to agree not to “disparage, tarnish, or otherwise harm, in our opinion, us and/or the Site.”
It’s app is available now for preorder on the Apple App Store from “T Media Tech LLC.” The platform is listed for ages 12+.
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