The new social networking project of Donald Trump, the Truth Social, released late Sunday at app store of Apple, possibly marking the former president's return to the social media after his exclusion from many platforms last year.
The app was available for download shortly before midnight and was automatically downloaded to Apple devices owned by users who had pre-ordered the app.
Some users reported that they either had trouble signing up for the app or were added to a waiting list with a message: «Due to huge demand, we have placed you on our waiting list».
The app was available to people who were invited to use it during its trial phase, according to a Reuters report.
Trump was banned from Alphabet Inc's Twitter Inc, Facebook and YouTube after the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol after he was accused of publishing messages that incited the attack.
Headed by former Republican US Representative Devin Nunes, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the company behind Truth Social, joins a portfolio of technology companies that have identified themselves as defenders of free speech and hope to attract users who believe their views are «suppressed» on more traditional platforms.
So far, none of these platforms have come close to the popularity of their original competitors.
«This week we will start to make the app available in the Apple Store. That's going to be great because we're going to have a lot more people on the platform,» Noons says in an appearance on Fox.
Still, Noons encouraged users to follow more accounts, share photos and videos, and participate in chats in an apparent attempt to increase activity on the app.
Even now that the details of the app are beginning to emerge, TMTG, Trump's technology-related company, remains shrouded in a veil of secrecy and is viewed with skepticism in some tech and media circles. It is unclear, for example, how the company is funding its current growth.
TMTG plans to go public through a merger with white check company Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC) and is to receive $293 million in cash that DWAC holds in trust, provided that no DWAC shareholder redeems its shares, TMTG said in a press release.
In addition, in December TMTG raised $1 billion in funding from private investors. This money will not be available until the deal closes.
The company's operations have been reviewed by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the deal is likely months away from closing.
