Who could have predicted this?
Donald Trump‘s social media app, Truth Social, launched today and it’s safe to say it’s got off to a shaky start.
We reported on his foray into the world of social media last year when the fledgling platform was little more than an idea; nine months later and the app is live – at least on paper – but those who preordered are struggling to even get on it.
Going up on Apple’s App Store late on Sunday, many users have reported either having trouble registering for an account or being added to a waitlist after receiving the following message: “Due to massive demand, we have placed you on our waitlist.”
BREAKING: in less than 3 hours, over 85k users are in the queue to join Truth Social pic.twitter.com/azxrGLRoYY
— Jenna Ellis (@JennaEllisEsq) February 21, 2022
Select groups, namely those who had pre-ordered ahead of time, had already been able to sample the app whilst it was still in its beta phase – which many said bore a striking resemblance to Twitter (you know, the one he was kicked off of) – and included a phase which allowed for the censoring of images using artificial intelligence.
As for the more general reaction, the consensus seems to be that the packaging could use some work; for instance, making a new logo that doesn’t look almost identical to a British business:
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
One of these is the icon for Trump's "truth social" site the other is the icon for a British "Fleet Telematics & Fuel Efficiency" company that has used it since at least 2019https://t.co/ajIMuykZN0https://t.co/BbnlIpMCkJ pic.twitter.com/aQssmef17x
— z3dster (@z3dster) February 21, 2022
Led by former Republican representative Devin Nunes, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) – the venture behind Truth Social – is marketed as a “free speech” alternative to social media.
However, people are running into the problem of having to accept a terms of service agreement before they’ve even got on the site full stop.
Everyone signing up for #TrumpsTruthSocial has to agree to the Terms of Service…. So Queation why is #TruthSocial's terms of service link says it doesn't exsit?
Isn't this illegal?#TrumpIsACriminal #TrumpIsATraitor #Trump pic.twitter.com/9LTFat1di2— Anjee W 🐦4Ever (@Anjeew) February 21, 2022
As per Reuters, the holding company is listed as a New York business thanks to a merger with blank-check firm Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC) and stands to receive $293m in cash through a DWAC trust. Additionally, back in in December, TMTG raised $1bn in financing through private investors.
Trump is almost certainly going to chuck lots of money at this thing but that doesn’t take away from its poor reception thus far. For added context, the app has barely gone live (well, it hasn’t) and it’s already got its own parody account:
Edit: Turns out you can’t join us today. Our app does not work.
— TheTruthSocial (parody) (@TheTruthSocial) February 16, 2022
As if its version of retweets – dubbed ‘re-truths’ – wasn’t parody enough, the technical issues on launch day aren’t the only practical hiccup the company has faced.
In fact, the app was actually hacked before it even went live, with trolls creating fake accounts for the disgraced former president and his then vice president Mike Pence within minutes of its official announcement on October 21, 2021.
Related links:
- QAnon claims Trump actually used JFK as body double at rally
- Prince Andrew makes secret nighttime visits to the Queen
- Trump brands Biden an ‘insecure dictator’ with a ‘voice of desperation’
