Former President Donald Trump has launched his new "free speech" oriented Twitter-style social media platform, Truth Social, on President's Day, and 12 hours after its debut, it has hit number 1 on Apple's App Store.
As of this writing, Truth Social is the highest-ranking free app on the App Store in the U.S. The rest of the Top 10 are: Talking Ben the Dog, HBO Max, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Messenger and Peacock TV. Truth Social also is the No. 1 trending title in the App Store’s “Social Networking” category.
Despite all the buzz surrounding the launch of the app, Truth Social has been plagued by "launch day woes," with many users reporting errors when trying to sign up. The demand has also moved many users to a "waiting list" after finally successfully creating their profile. The app is currently only available for Apple users, leaving many Android users out in the cold (though an Android version is reportedly in development).
Former Republican Congressman Devin Nunes, who is the CEO of Trump's technology start-up Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), said that Truth Social will be "fully operation" by the end of March when "anyone can get on the platform within the United States at any time."
Truth Social is a Twitter-style app that invites users to share their opinions on a platform that is "free from political discrimination." It's unclear if Trump plans to participate as an active user on his own social media platform, but if he does, it could be the boost it needs to compete with Twitter itself.
TMTG has said that its 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."
TMTG also has plans to launch its own subscription-based streaming service, filled with "non-woke" programming. Recently, right-leaning The Daily Wire has dipped its toe into content creation as well. No word on if the proposed streaming service looks to take on Netflix as Truth Social is designed to take on Twitter.
