Trump is set to launch ‘TRUTH Social’, a new social media network
Image credit: Variety
Former US President Donald Trump has announced the establishment of TRUTH Social, a new social media platform.
Mr. Trump’s campaign for the White House relied heavily on social media, and it was his preferred mode of contact as president. However, after his followers stormed the US Capitol, Mr. Trump was banned from Twitter and suspended from Facebook.
Throughout Mr. Trump’s administration, social media companies were under pressure to prohibit him, with his messages being criticised as offensive, inflammatory, or spreading plain lies. Some of his posts were deleted or labelled as false by Twitter and Facebook last year, including one in which he claimed Covid was “less dangerous” than the flu.
After the January riots, which followed a speech in which he made unsubstantiated charges of vote fraud, they decided to ban or suspend Mr. Trump.
In response to the rioting, Mr. Trump labelled those at the Capitol as “patriots” and showed no evidence of accepting the election results, forcing Twitter and Facebook to decide that allowing him to use their platforms was too hazardous.
Since then, he and his advisers have hinted at plans to launch a competing social media platform. After attracting barely a fraction of the audience he would have expected from established sites, the website was permanently shut down less than a month after it started.
According to a statement from Trump Media & Technology Group, an early version of his latest business, TRUTH Social, will be open to invited guests next month and will have a “nationwide rollout” within the first three months of 2022.
Mr. Trump’s statement comes just months after his former assistant, Jason Miller, founded GETTR, a new social media platform.
Many Republicans agree with his assessment that social media mutes conservative views, despite Facebook data showing prominent personalities like Ben Shapiro and Dan Bongino, as well as outlets like Fox News and The Daily Caller, frequently rank among the site’s best performing postings.
Mr. Trump still has a strong grip on the Republican party. He has intimated that he will run for president again in 2024, although no formal announcement has been made. He’s also kept his profile up by participating in public rallies.