What is Trump’s Truth Social app?
SAN FRANCISCO — Former President Donald Trump launched his social media platform, Truth Social, in early 2022, after he was banned from major sites such as Facebook and the platform formerly known as Twitter following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
While he’s since been reinstated to both, he’s mostly stayed off X, the Elon Musk-owned platform that was once his primary megaphone. On Facebook, meanwhile, his posts are largely videos and images with slogans and messages like “THANK YOU, MISSOURI! Together, WE are going to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
Here are some things to know about Trump’s social media platform and where it fits into the broader social media landscape.
What is Truth Social?
Before Truth Social, there was a short-lived blog on Trump’s personal website called “From the Desk of Donald J. Trump.” But it didn’t last long, and Trump’s camp was already hinting that the former president had a social media platform in the works.
Truth Social launched in the Apple App store in February 2022. It was a glitchy start, but it shot to the top of Apple’s list of most downloaded free apps. While the platform sought to capitalize on the outrage over Trump’s social media bans to attract a broad audience, Truth Social, much like fellow right-leaning social media platforms Gettr and Parler, has not been able to move much beyond an echo chamber of conservative political commentary — if they are able to stay online in the first place.
How does it work?
Truth Social looks and feels a bit like X. Users have a profile, they can follow one another, post “truths” or “retruths” and send direct messages. Ads are called “sponsored truths.”
To sign up, Truth Social asks for an email address and phone number. Users have to agree to receive text messages from it before they can complete the signup process. This is uncommon for social media companies looking to attract as many people as possible, since it may turn off some potential users. And unlike mainstream social media companies, which allow teenagers to sign up, Truth Social requires users to be at least 18 — though it does not verify ages.
Truth Social’s feed looks much like X’s, with a purple color scheme and a “for you” section of recommended posts as well as a feed of accounts a user follows. There’s an abundance of conservativeleaning political posts, voices of support for Trump, railing against immigration and President Joe Biden.
As part of an agreement that runs until February 2025, Trump has agreed to wait six hours after posting on Truth Social before he can post any “non-political communications” on other social media platforms
However, this is at the former president’s sole discretion, and as the company notes in a regulatory filing, as “a candidate for president, most or all of President Trump’s social media posts may be deemed by him to be politically related.”