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Former President Donald Trump’s social media app, which he hopes will challenge Twitter, debuted on Monday, as he seeks a new digital stage to rally his followers and defies Big Tech speech restrictions a year after being barred from Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
A limited number of members who had preordered his Truth Social app were able to download it via the Apple App Store. Others who were placed on a waiting list will be granted access over the following ten days.
Shortly after its inception, the site experienced technical difficulties, with tales of subscribers being locked out for hours. Others had difficulty logging in. The site is not scheduled to be available for download until next month.
“Due to tremendous demand, we have placed you on our waitlist,” said a message to several of those attempting to use the site, followed by the words “We love you.”
Trump is expecting that the millions of people who follow him on Twitter would flock to Truth Social as he hints at a third presidential run, resulting in a flood of new members to justify the billions of dollars that investors have put on the enterprise. In recent months, shares in a firm that intends to acquire Trump Media and Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, have skyrocketed.
Truth Social was the #1 free app in the United States on Monday morning, according to Apple’s rankings, beating out the “Talking Ben the Dog” children’s game, streaming service HBO Max, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.
The partial launch on Monday follows an experimental “beta” launch last week to test the technology.
Trump was barred from using major social media sites in the aftermath of last year’s Capitol incident, which opponents accused him of encouraging. The restriction has highlighted serious concerns about free speech in a social media market driven by a few digital behemoths, which Trump and conservative media have exploited.
Republicans were quick to capitalize on the establishment of Truth Social to generate funds for their election campaigns.
“After over A YEAR of muzzling by the Liberal Big Tech Tyrants: TRUMP. IS. BACK,” Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said in an email fundraising plea Monday.
The Republican National Committee and the Congressional Leadership Fund have also raised funds as a result of the launch.
“Our first purpose here is to restore people’s voices.” “Devin Nunes, CEO of Trump Media and a former Republican congressman stated on Fox News on Sunday. He went on to say that the app provides “the polar opposite of some Silicon Valley tech oligarch freak telling people what to believe and selecting who can and cannot be on the platform.”
According to Nunes, the app should be “completely functioning” by the end of March.
