Launched February 20 On The App Store, Truth Social Becomes The Best Selling App

JAKARTA - Former US President Donald Trump's new social media platform, Truth Social, launched on Sunday evening on Apple's App Store. The app could potentially mark the former president's return to social media after he was banned from several platforms last year.

The app is available just before midnight ET and is the top free app available on the App Store, until Monday morning.

Many users have reported having difficulty signing up for an account or being added to a waiting list with the message: "Due to high demand, we have placed you on our waiting list."

According to a Reuters report, the app has been made available to people who were invited to use it during the previous testing phase.

Trump himself was banned from using Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube after January 6, 2021, or after an attack on the US Capitol by his supporters. Trump, at the time, was accused of posting messages that incited violence.

Led by former US Republican Representative Devin Nunes, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the venture behind Truth Social, joins a growing portfolio of tech companies positioning themselves as champions of free speech and hoping to attract users who feel their views are right. but pressed on more established platforms.

So far no startups, which include competitors Twitter, Gettr, and Parler and video site Rumble, have come close to matching the popularity of their mainstream counterparts.

"This week we will start rolling out on the Apple App Store. That will be great, because we will get more people who will be on the platform," Nunes said in a Sunday appearance on Fox News' program "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo".

"Our goal is, I think we will achieve it, I think by the end of March we will be fully operational, at least in the United States," he added.

Truth Social's app store page detailing its version history shows the first public version of the app, or version 1.0 available a day ago, confirms a Reuters report. The current version 1.0.1 includes "bug fixes", according to the page.

Last Friday, Nunes on the app urged users to follow more accounts, share photos and videos, and participate in conversations, in an apparent effort to bring activity to life.

Between Nunes' posts, he welcomed a new user who appeared to be a Catholic priest and encouraged him to invite more priests to join.

Even as application details began to come out, TMTG remained largely shrouded in secrecy and was viewed with skepticism by some tech and media circles. It's not clear, for example, how the company is funding its growth at this time.

TMTG plans to list shares in New York through a merger with blank check firm Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC) and will receive the $293 million in cash that DWAC holds in the trust, assuming no DWAC shareholders redeem their shares.

In addition, in December TMTG raised US$1 billion from private investors. The money will also not be available until the DWAC deal closes.