If Twitter hadn’t kicked out ex-US President Donald Trump after his militant supporters stormed the Capitol in Washington, it wouldn’t exist: With “Truth Social,” Trump has created his own Twitter replacement. Six months after its launch, however, the platform is anything but a success story.
It was very popular recently: After the FBI searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, nearly 90,000 new users signed up for “Truth Social” to follow the ex-president’s tirades about investigators. In total, the app “Truth Social” is said to have been downloaded 3.2 million times. However, the potential following is still much smaller than on Twitter, where Trump had 80 million followers when he was banned.
Flown from Google Play Store
“Truth Social” could now be held back by a decision from internet giant Google. He threw the app out of his Play Store – according to “TechCrunch” because of many posts violating Google’s content guidelines. Not surprisingly, at the launch of the platform, Trump advertised that he would not bow to the “censorship” of the tech companies.
For “Truth Social”, ejecting the Play Store is a setback: Google’s Android operating system runs on about three-quarters of all smartphones. And in the US there is already speculation that Apple could do the same as Google. “Truth Social” is still available on the Californians’ App Store.
Server costs not paid
“Truth Social” doesn’t just seem to be having trouble reaching as many smartphone users as possible. Apparently it is also in financial difficulties. The operator is the Trump Media & Technology Group, TMTG for short. And she hasn’t paid any bills to the server provider Rightforge since March – so shortly after the start of “Truth Social”.
This has taken it upon itself to provide the political right with IT infrastructure “without big tech censorship”. But now Rightforge threatens TMTG with a lawsuit. The Trump network would already owe the IT service provider $1.6 million, US broadcaster Fox News reported, which has always been Trump-friendly in the past.
Brand name not protected
According to Golem.de, TMTG again went bankrupt when it tried to protect “Truth Social” as a brand. A corresponding application was denied by the US Patent and Trademark Office. Reason: “Truth Social” as a brand name would be too similar to the already registered brands “The Truth Network” and “Vero – True Social”.
House of Representatives wants to answer
Most recently, “Truth Social” was again an increasing topic in American politics: A radical Trump supporter who – krone.at reported – wanted to storm an FBI office after the mid-August raid on the ex-president and was shot while trying , posted there before his act calls for violence: “I propose war.” After the act, the account was deleted, but according to US media it is still striking that such content is rarely removed on “Truth Social”, posts such as the one that was recently hotly debated on Right to Abortion, yes.
The US House of Representatives now wants to know how that is possible from TMTG director Devin Nunes – himself a former Republican member. A catalog of questions was sent to him, requesting detailed information about moderation practices at “Truth Social” and measures against incitement to violence.
Trump allegedly incited supporters
Radical supporters of Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021, following Trump’s election defeat by Joe Biden. The ex-president is accused of boosting the crowd earlier with a speech and a series of Twitter messages. After the incident, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube kicked Trump out. Most of all, the loss of his favorite platform, Twitter, infuriated Trump and sparked international debates.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
