Truth Social is a social media app created by former US President Donald Trump. Unveiled on the 21st of February, 2022, it has been a year since the app has been up and running. Earlier available only for Apple users, the app can now be downloaded by Android users too. Donald Trump introduced his app following his prohibitions from several social media networks like Facebook and Twitter in 2021. Trump gained a massive following before his ban from these platforms. Consequently, he stated his desire to create his own platform. Little did he know that his app would create a buzz among social media enthusiasts!
Right after its introduction, the app rocketed to the top of the App Store’s Top Charts. On the Apple Store, Truth Social has surpassed some of the most popular social media giants, such as Twitter and TikTok. Interestingly, the man who disclosed this information is Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter.
Here is everything about Truth Social.
What is Truth Social and Who Owns it?
Trump Media & Technology Group owns Truth Social, a social media app conceptualized and developed by former US President, Donald Trump. Founded in 2021, the goal of this app is to create alternatives to major media channels. The company first announced that it would start in October 2021 to combat Big Tech, which, according to Trump, restricts him and his freedom of speech.
Why did the Former President Introduce an App?
The reason behind introducing a social media app was not to earn money. Following Trump’s permanent ban from Twitter in 2021, Trump decided to launch his own social network. According to him, ‘Truth Social will stand up to the tyranny of Big Tech’.
Before his permanent ban from the social media app, Trump had been immensely active on it. He had 90 million followers on Twitter and 34 million followers on Facebook. He utilized the app to do a lot of posting on the internet. According to some reports, Trump loved posting on the internet before his presidency. He used to tweet over 30 times a day on average by the end of his term. After his ban, he returned to the internet with a short-lived blog that posted updates like Twitter.
Trump has introduced this app to take control of the conversations he has with his fans and move all his Twitter followers to Truth Social. According to him, if he could get even a tiny percentage of the people to follow him on the new app, the experiment would be a huge success.
Is Truth Social a Copy of Twitter?
After downloading, many users have claimed that Trump’s app is the exact copy of Twitter. It was created using an open-source license from Mastodon, while the business has not confessed to mimicking Twitter.
However, the owner of the app shuns these claims.
Is Truth Social a Safe Platform?
Reportedly, Truth Social is based on Mastodon’s technology, but despite the fact, it may be configured to not communicate with other services, thus making it an isolated or safe platform to utilize. The app allows solid filtering, and moderation, as well as a banning mechanism for the users and admins.
Besides this, the users can run into other security clues. For instance, ads and third-party advertisers are frequently mentioned in the Privacy Policy. That said, it would be unfair to boast about the app’s safety and security, for it remains unclear how it would affect the user’s privacy.
How to Sign up for Truth Social?
In November 2021, a beta test for the then-iOS app was planned to begin. As of February 2022, iOS users were allowed to download this app from the App Store. At that time, the Android version of the app was not available and the official platform claimed that Truth Social for Android users will be coming soon.
When Truth Social was introduced on the Play Store in August 2022, the reception of the app was not favored by the platform. Reportedly, the lack of content moderation caused Google to ban the app from Play Store, and the status remained the same for eight months. Google’s rule demands strict moderation policies to be in place for all apps that host user-generated content, focusing particularly on things such as violence, sexual content, and hate speech.
According to Google’s spokesperson, “Apps may be distributed on Google Play provided they comply with our developers’ guidelines, including the requirement to effectively moderate user-generated content and remove objectionable posts such as those incite violence.”
As confirmed by the company, Truth Social has agreed to enforce the moderation measures on user-generated content that Google requires. As reported, Truth Social is committed to enforcing its existing content policies that among other things ban posts that are ‘false, inaccurate, or misleading, and depict violence, threats of violence or criminal activity.’
Now, after many months of the ban, Truth Social is finally available to download from the Play Store. It was also added to Samsung’s Galaxy Store.
When you sign up, you will be asked to provide an email address and phone number like any other social media app. Once done, you are ready to use Truth Social.
Will Truth Social Allow Free Speech For Real?
Although the former President and his platform brag a lot about the ‘free speech’ element of Truth Social, these claims are far from being true. Like other social media apps, Truth Social comes with its own rules and terms of use. Users who have been accepted into the beta program have shared that certain kinds of content have been hidden. Users who had been on the waitlist had reported their accounts were banned too.
Lesser-Known Facts About the App
- Around 27 percent of adults in the United States of America have heard of Truth Social, out of which only 2 percent have actually used the platform. Overall, only 6 percent of Americans get news from at least one of the seven sites, and no single site is used for news by more than 2 percent of adults.
- As stated, the evidence of Truth Social being a platform for free speech is mixed. The app blocks content due to political views expressed. The terms of service of this platform also prohibit violent and sexual content.
- Users who have signed up on this platform have given it a thumbs up. According to them, the news and information posted on this app are mostly accurate. 58 percent of users say the news they received from Truth Social gave them a better understanding of current events.
- Although Truth Social identifies itself as non-partisan, many accounts here are right-leaning or pro-Trump. 44 percent of prominent accounts on the app express religious identity, and 43 percent have a reference to patriotism or a pro-America message.
- Want to know the most popular subjects or topics of discussion on the app? According to a review of the posts from the 200 prominent Truth Social accounts, 64 percent posted about guns. 55 percent posted on LGBTQ issues, and 54 percent shared their views on abortion. In addition to these, vaccination has been a common topic of discussion.
- About 66 percent of the users who regularly get news from any of the seven alternative social media sites studied by the Center, including Truth Social are identified as Republicans. It is a higher percentage than the ones who identify themselves as Democrats.
Will you download the app?
