NEW YORK(Washington Insider Magazine) – Former President Donald Trump’s social networking site, which he believes will end up replacing Twitter, launched on Monday, one year after he was banned from Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook. Trump is seeking a fresh virtual stage to rally his followers and battle speech limitations imposed by Big Tech.
Only a few members who pre-ordered his Truth Social application were able to get it through the Apple App Store. Those who have been kept on a standby list, according to ABC NEWS, will be given entry during the next 10 days.
The platform encountered technological troubles shortly after its launch, with reports of members being blocked out for hours. Others were unable to log in. It’s unlikely that anybody keen on downloading will be able to go online until next month.
Trump is expecting that Truth Social will attract millions of individuals who follow him on Twitter, resulting in a surge of new subscribers to validate the billions of dollars spent in the company as he hints at a third run for the presidency.
Holdings in a business that wants to buy Trump Media and Technology Group, the parent organization of Truth Social, have skyrocketed in recent months.
According to Apple’s ratings, Truth Social was the leading free app in the U. S. on Monday morning, knocking out the children’s game “Talking Ben the Dog,” HBO Max, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram.
After an early “beta” version last week to assess the platform, the site has now been partially launched.
Trump was barred from key social media websites after the January 6 Capitol disturbance, which the opposition said he instigated. The ban has triggered a debate over free expression in a social media space dominated by select internet behemoths, an issue that Trump and the right-wing media have highlighted.
Trump is hoping to profit from public outrage over the social media restrictions in order to keep the stock value increasing — and perhaps earn him hundreds of millions of dollars — but he confronts serious challenges.
Neither of the public-facing alternative networking sites, like Parler and Gettr, have been able to crack through the conservative political critique echo chamber.
Trump’s organization, Trump Media, is also having financial troubles. It has gotten $300 million from a publicly-traded company that wants to merge with it, and also $1 billion in pledges from multiple private donors to help fund its activities, but it still needs governmental approval before it can use the funds.
