MM News

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump’s new social media venture, Truth Social, has gone live and is now available for download on Apple’s App store, potentially marking the former US president’s return to social media after he was banned from several platforms last year.

The app, which allows users to post and share a “truth” as they would a tweet, was available to download shortly before midnight ET and was automatically downloaded to Apple Inc devices belonging to users who had pre-ordered the app.

Some users reported either having trouble registering for an account or were added to a waitlist with a message: “Due to massive demand, we have placed you on our waitlist.”

Trump was banned from Twitter Inc, Facebook and Alphabet Inc’s YouTube following January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by his supporters, after he was accused of posting messages inciting violence.

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

“This week we will begin to roll out on the Apple App Store. That’s going to be awesome, because we’re going to get so many more people that are going to be on the platform,” Nunes said while talking to Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo”.

“Our goal is, I think we’re going to hit it, I think by the end of March we’re going to be fully operational at least within the United States,” he added.

Truth Social’s app store page detailing its version history showed the first public version of the app, or version 1.0 was available a day ago, confirming a Reuters report. The current version 1.0.1 includes “bug fixes”, according to the page.

On 15 February, MR Trump’s eldest son Donald Jr tweeted a screenshot of his father’s verified Truth Social account, @realDonaldTrump, showing a “truth” (a post) reading: “Get Ready! Your favorite President will see you soon!”