According to a listing on the Apple App Store, Donald Trump’s social media platform is set to launch on February 21.
On the iOS App Store, a pre-order page for Truth Social has been surreptitiously modified to mention an “anticipated Feb. 21, 2022” release date. Trump Media & Technology Group, the platform’s creator, did not reply to a request for comment. Reuters, citing an unnamed source acquainted with the plans for Truth Social, claims that the Feb. 21 date is legitimate. Given that February 21 is Presidents Day, a launch on that day would be appropriate.
After his followers stormed the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump was permanently banned from Twitter and suspended from Facebook and YouTube. As a result, Trump has been working on Truth Social, a pro-free expression social media site aimed at combating supposed “Big Tech” repression.
“Unlike Big Tech platforms, there will be no shadow-banning, throttling, demonetization, or tinkering with algorithms for political manipulation,” Trump stated in October. “We will not quiet our fellow citizens merely because they may be mistaken—or, even worse, because we believe Americans “can’t handle the truth.” Truth Social, on the other hand, has had a difficult start. The platform was expected to go live in November as a beta, but it never did. The site also used code from Mastodon, a social networking platform, but did not credit the open-source project until a month later.
Users should expect a similar experience to Twitter when Truth Social ultimately launches. But the key uncertainties are how it will handle content control (if at all) and if it will be able to compete with Facebook and Twitter in terms of user numbers. Devin Nunes, who left Congress last month to become CEO of Trump Media & Technology Group, was one of the people it attracted.
