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Donald Trump's Truth Social App Hits No. 1 On Apple's App Store

The social network backed by ex-president Donald Trump — ironically, it's called Truth Social — has hit the top of the Apple App Store rankings for free apps a little over 12 hours after it debuted.

The Twitter-style app invites users to "share your unique opinion" and insists that it is "free from political discrimination." Trump's Truth Social launches about a year after the twice-impeached U.S. President was permanently banned from Twitter and several other mainstream internet platforms over his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

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.

"What makes Truth Social different!? We are a social media platform that is free from political discrimination. Join us and share, communicate, and have fun!" the app's description reads.

While it seemingly has attracted broad interest, many users who attempted to sign up for Truth Social accounts on Monday (Feb. 21) have reported encountering error messages reading "Something went wrong. Please try again" when they have tried to sign up.

"Apple released the Truth Social application in the App Store at 23:00 20 February," a message on the Truth Social status page posted at 11:24 p.M. ET Sunday said. "The Truth Social application is online, although user creation is currently rate-limited during our rollout. We will expand capacity over the coming hours to enable more users to join Truth Social."

It's not clear whether Trump plans to participate as an active user on Truth Social. Devin Nunes, the former Republican representative who quit Congress to become the CEO of TMTG, said last week on a podcast hosted by Sebastian Gorka (Trump's ex-deputy national security adviser) that Truth Social will be "fully operational" by the end of March, when "anyone can get on the platform within the United States at any time."

An Android version of the Truth Social app is apparently in development, but there's been no ETA on when that might launch. A placeholder on the company's site says it is "Coming soon" to the Google Play Store.

The company behind the app, Trump Media & Technology Group, previously announced plans for a public rollout in the first quarter of 2022. TMTG has said 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 is set to become a publicly traded entity through a merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

In addition to Truth Social, TMTG said it will launch a subscription-streaming service with "non-woke" programming, led by Scott St. John, a former executive producer of shows including "Deal or No Deal" and "America's Got Talent."

In describing its "big tent" philosophy, Truth Social includes this description: "Think of a giant outdoor event tent at your best friend's wedding. Who's there? The combination of multiple families from all over the United States, and the world. Uncle Jim from Atlanta is a proud libertarian. Aunt Kellie from Texas is a staunch conservative. Your cousin John from California is a die-hard liberal. And guess what? They're all together to have an amazing time and share their different viewpoints on the world. Although we don't always agree with each other, we welcome these varied opinions and the robust conversation they bring."

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Trump's Truth Social App Branded A Disaster

By James ClaytonNorth America technology reporter

In October, Donald Trump announced he was planning to launch a revolutionary technology company.

"I created Truth Social… to stand up to the tyranny of big tech," he said.

"We live in a world where the Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter yet your favourite American president has been silenced."

The app launched on Presidents' Day, 21 February, but six weeks later is beset by problems. A waiting list of nearly 1.5 million are unable to use it.

Number 1,419,631

Truth Social looks a lot like Twitter, which banned Mr Trump from posting on the platform after a mob of his supporters attacked the Capitol on 6 January, 2021.

Twitter contended that Donald Trump, by making false claims the presidential election had been "stolen", had incited violence. He was banned for life on 8 January, 2021.

Truth Social might look like Twitter, but it isn't available on Android phones, web browsers or, apparently, to most people outside the US.

"It's been a disaster," Joshua Tucker, director of NYU's Center for Social Media and Politics, said.

And a Republican ally of Mr Trump's, who did not wish to be identified, said: "Nobody seems to know what's going on."

On 21 February, Truth Social was one of the App Store's most downloaded apps - but many who downloaded it were unable to use it.

There was an assumption this problem would soon be resolved and Mr Trump would start posting his "truths" in the coming days - but neither of those things happened.

My attempt to register, this week, was placed at number 1,419,631 on the waiting list.

While YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook are among the 10 most downloaded apps, according to Similar Web, Truth Social is outside the top 100.

Users who find their way in can find the app a little empty, as many big voices on the American right have so far stayed away.

Another study found downloads have fallen by as much as 95%.

And many are feeling frustrated.

"Signed up for Truth Social a couple weeks ago and still on a waiting list," one Twitter user said, on Tuesday.

"By the time I'm off the waiting list and on to Truth Social for real, Trump will be President again," joked another.

Baffled experts

Truth Social chief executive Devin Nunes said its goal was to be "fully operational" by the end of March.

But quite why the app is having so many problems has baffled experts.

Some have pointed to Truth Social's partnership with Rumble, a video-sharing platform that looks a bit like YouTube.

Popular with conservatives and the far right, Rumble was supposed to provide a "critical backbone" for the site's infrastructure.

But if Truth Social is having server problems, why has it taken so long to fix?

"It should take a few days to fix, not six weeks," a Republican source close to Mr Trump said.

"There's always going to be hiccups at the beginning - but at this point, I would have thought it would have been resolved.

"Nobody seems to understand why."

Rival competitors

Mr Trump is said to be furious, asking why more people are not using Truth Social.

He has about 750,000 followers but has not posted a "truth" for well over a month.

Mr Trump's last Truth Social post was mid-February

"Maybe they're holding him back," Mr Tucker said.

"That's his last chance to launch it - when suddenly Trump comes in and starts being really active on it, that will get a buzz."

Much maligned, Truth Social could still rival competitors such as Gab and Gettr.

Mr Trump retains star quality and any "free speech" app would bend over backwards to have him on its platform.

But at the moment, Truth Social has become a little embarrassing.

A platform supposed to stand up to Silicon Valley's heavyweights has barely been able to get to its feet.

James Clayton is the BBC's North America technology reporter based in San Francisco. Follow him on Twitter @jamesclayton5.

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Trump, Truth Social Poised To Cash In On Wall Street For $300 Million: Report

Trump Media and Digital World, which own Donald Trump's Twitter-like Truth Social app, is poised to merge and become a publicly traded company on Wall Street, perhaps reaping $300 million. Trump would be the majority shareholder of the combined public company. (Photo Illustration)

Recent headlines have been filled with civil court cases that could cost Donald Trump hundreds of millions. But the former president and GOP frontrunner could be about to become gold on Wall Street.

As Politico reports, Trump Media and Digital World, which own Trump's Twitter-like Truth Social app, is poised to merge and become a publicly traded company on Wall Street, perhaps reaping $300 million for the combined public company – of which Trump will be the majority shareholder.

This, after the Securities and Exchange Commission signed off on a planned merger between the companies behind the deal -- Trump Media & Technology Group and Digital World Acquisition Corp.

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"We are immensely proud of the strides we've taken towards advancing the Business Combination," Digital World CEO Eric Swider said in a statement. "This achievement marks a significant milestone for us."

All that's left now is a vote by the companies' investors, which is said to be a mere formality.

In fact, shares of the combined company could start trading as soon as next month on Wall Street.

Politico reports the deal "could inject some $300 million" into the newly merged company, which has waited more than two years for SEC approval, overcoming numerous hurdles along the way.

It will be a huge windfall for Trump, who would become the combined company's largest investor with more than 78 million shares, giving him as much as 69 percent ownership, Politico reports. However, Trump will be barred from selling his shares for several months.

The potential rise in Trump's fortunes come as the former president faces nearly $450 million in potential damages and fines resulting from his two civil trials over the last year, according to ABC News, which adds:

"Late week, the judge overseeing E. Jean Carroll's defamation case against Trump ordered Trump to pay the former Elle magazine columnist $83.3 million in damages on top of the $5 million he owes her from an earlier sexual assault trial. And later Friday, the judge overseeing Trump's civil fraud trial is expected to issue a ruling where he could fine the president as much as $367 million plus interest for a decade of fraudulent business deals."

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