Former US President Donald Trump has revealed intentions to create his own social networking site, called “TRUTH Social,” which will be accessible for “invited guests” in the coming months.
According to a statement released on social media, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) will control the platform, which also plans to create a subscription video-on-demand service with “non-woke” entertainment content.
The statement quoted Trump saying; “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.”
Merger with blank check company
According to the announcement, TMTG will combine with blank check firm Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC) to become a publicly-traded corporation.
It stated that “The transaction values Trump Media & Technology Group at an initial enterprise value of $875 Million, with a potential additional earnout of $825 Million in additional shares (at the valuation they are granted) for a cumulative valuation of up to $1.7 Billion depending on the performance of the stock price post-business combination”.
Free-speech battles
Trump has fought internet companies that he claims have unjustly censored him for years, using Twitter in particular as a rhetorical weapon throughout his administration.
The battle for free speech erupted when he was banned from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the rest of the world’s most popular social media sites for inciting the crowd that trashed Congress.
Since then, Trump has been pursuing legal action against the Internet companies in an attempt to regain his online megaphone.
He started a blog named “From the Desk of Donald J. Trump” in May, which was hailed as a significant new platform –– but he took it down a month later.
Jason Miller, a former Trump adviser, founded the social network Gettr earlier this year, but the Republican has yet to join.
Miller praised Trump for “re-entering the social media battle” shortly after TRUTH Social was revealed.
In a message tweeted by Gettr, he added, “Now Facebook and Twitter will lose even more market share.”
Banned on social media
On January 7, Facebook banned Trump indefinitely for his inflammatory remarks that preceded the Capitol insurgency; the suspension was subsequently reduced to two years.
Twitter quickly followed, permanently suspending Trump’s account –– which had more than 88 million followers at the time –– due to the “risk of further incitement of violence.”
As he tries to maintain his position as the most powerful Republican in the country, Trump has started attending public events, including campaign-style rallies.
He’s hinted at a presidential candidacy in 2024, but he’s yet to make a decision on his political future.
