In the aftermath of his banishment from mainstream social media, former president Donald Trump wasn’t desperate enough to join Gettr. He passed on Gab and Parler. Now, he’s taking matters into his own hands in his lifelong quest to get people to pay more attention to him.
Trump announced on Wednesday that the newly formed Trump Media & Technology Group would be launching a new social network, catchily called Truth Social. In a lengthy statement announcing the new venture, Trump outlined his thinking:
I created TRUTH Social and TMTG to stand up to the tyranny of Big Tech. We live in a world where the Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter, yet your favorite American President has been silenced. This is unacceptable. I am excited to send out my first TRUTH on TRUTH Social very soon.
Yes, it appears a message on the new network will be known as a “truth.” This is both snappy and reflects the quality Trump is widely associated with.
Truth Social is set to launch next month for “invited users” and to the general public in early 2022. The Trump Media & Technology Group, meanwhile, is planning to go public via SPAC in the coming months.
The design of the new network doesn’t look like it will break the mold — as The Guardian notes, “Screenshots of the Truth Social app show a user profile that bears a striking resemblance to a Twitter profile.” What supposedly distinguishes it from that platform is its adherence to free speech. Truth Social’s website proclaims that the platform “encourages an open, free, and honest global conversation without discriminating against political ideology.”
There is one topic, though, that is strictly verboten:
