Trump Launches New Social Networking Platform, Social Truth, Which Is Claimed To Be Like Twitter

Donald Trump created Truth Social to compete with the social media giants in the US. (photo: unsplash)

JAKARTA - Former US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, October 20 that he was launching a new social network called Truth Social. According to a press release purported to be from one of his companies, Trump's Social Network aims to fight Big Tech. '

The Trump Media and Technology Group, which made the announcement, said the social network would begin a limited beta rollout in November, with a wider rollout expected in the first quarter of 2022.

"I created Truth Social and TMGT to fight the tyranny of Big Tech," Trump said in a press release sent to the media as quoted by CNET. "We live in a world where the Taliban are on Twitter, but your favorite American president has been silenced."

There is a site for Truth Social where people can join the waitlist for the social network, as well as a link to pre-order the iOS app. A screenshot of the app shows that Truth will have a profile page with a Twitter-like timeline of posts.

The plan to launch a new social network underscores how Trump is trying to rejoin the public conversation online after Google's Twitter, Facebook and YouTube removed him from their platforms following the deadly Capitol Hill riots in the US in January.

Trump's use of Twitter is redefining politics, allowing him to shun the mainstream media to try to dominate the political narrative. But Twitter permanently banned Trump on January 8, 2021, two days after mobs of his supporters stormed the US Capitol building in riots that killed several people, including a Capitol Police officer. Twitter said the ban was "because of the risk of further incitement to violence."

Facebook said Trump would be suspended from its platform until at least 2023. The social network would then "see experts to assess whether the risks to public safety have receded."

Facebook made the decision after the board tasked with reviewing its toughest content moderation decisions upheld Trump's suspension from the platform. YouTube said it would lift Trump's suspension from its platform when "the risk of violence has decreased."

The former president sued the platforms alongside Twitter, alleging censorship and First Amendment violations, even though the First Amendment applies to governments, not private companies like social media sites. Trump has for some time claimed without evidence that the company discriminates against rights, a charge the company has repeatedly denied.

Launching New Social Network

Trump has been talking about creating his own social network since he was banned from Twitter, Facebook, and Google.

In March, Jason Miller, a senior Trump adviser, told Fox News that the former president would return with his own social media platform in "two or three months." Trump started his own official blog in May, but he closed it one month later.

Despite the creation of a new social media platform, Trump has not left Twitter. Earlier this month, the former president asked a US district judge to give a preliminary injunction that would restore his account while his lawsuit against Twitter goes through the courts.

TMTG has agreed to merge with the Digital World Acquisition Group, a Miami-based company listed on the Nasdaq, to form a new company chaired by Trump, according to the press release.

Trump's efforts to build his own social network already face several challenges. The Washington Post reported that a “pig defecating” image to the “donaldjtrump” account of a trial version of the site.