On Wednesday, former President Trump officially announced the release of his own social media platform. The new platform will be called “TRUTH Social” and is set to go online at some point in early 2022. To quote Trump, “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.”
The operations of TRUTH Social will be overseen by the newly-formed Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG), which Trump is the chairman of. In addition to TRUTH Social, TMTG plans to launch a subscription service titled TMTG+. TMTG+ will feature content made by conservative contributors, such as podcasts, news shows, and entertainment shows. Prior to any of its products or services being launched, TMTG already has an initial valuation of over $1 billion.
According to a recent press release, “Trump Media & Technology Group’s mission is to create a rival to the liberal media consortium and fight back against the ‘Big Tech’ companies of Silicon Valley, which have used their unilateral power to silence opposing voices in America.” TRUTH Social is currently available for pre-order in the Apple App Store and is expected to be available for pre-order in the Google Play Store in the coming days.
Trump’s move comes after he was banned by Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube following the events that occurred at the Capitol on January 6th. Trump had a combined 150 million followers on the four platforms. Trump’s decision to launch his own social media platform also indicates that he will run for President in 2024 as he continues to remain the top voice for American conservatives. Further signaling that he will run in 2024, Trump held two large rallies in the crucial battleground states of Iowa and Georgia over the last month, where he criticized Joe Biden and discussed critical topics such as the economy and election integrity. Trump also surpassed Biden’s approval rating in a recent Quinnipiac poll, clearly showing that he would be a viable candidate if he chooses to extend his political career.
Since at least 68 percent of Republicans report using social media, it is likely that these individuals will join TRUTH Social. Further evidence that conservatives will use Trump’s TRUTH Social can be found in a recent poll that shows 54 percent of Republican voters would definitely “use a social media platform that was backed by former President Donald Trump.”
Considering the amount of energy that Trump has put into the development of the platform and the number of interactions each of Trump’s statements creates, it should be safe to assume that TRUTH Social will succeed in its effort to rival liberal social media companies such as Facebook and Twitter.
Leftist social media organizations constantly suppress and censor conservative opinions, making it extremely difficult for conservatives to prosper on their platforms. Trump’s TRUTH Social seems to be a tremendous solution to this significant issue.