In October, Donald Trump announced that it planned to launch a revolutionary technology company. “I created Truth Social … to stand up to the tyranny of big technology,” he said. “We live in a world where the Taliban have a huge presence on Twitter, but their favorite American president has been silenced.”
The app was launched on Presidents Day, February 21st, but six weeks later it is riddled with issues. A waiting list of nearly 1.5 million can’t use it. Truth Social looks a lot like Twitter, which banned Trump from posting on the platform after a mob of his supporters attacked Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021.
Twitter alleged that Donald Trump, by making false claims that the presidential election had been “stolen”, incited violence. It was banned for good on January 8, 2021. Truth Social may look like Twitter, but it’s not available on Android phones, web browsers, or apparently for most people outside of the US.
“It was a disaster,” said Joshua Tucker, director of the NYU Center for Social Media and Politics. And a Republican ally of Trump, who declined to be named, said: “Nobody seems to know what’s going on.”
On February 21st, Truth Social was one of the most downloaded apps on the App Store – but many who downloaded were unable to use it. There was an assumption that this issue would be resolved soon and Trump would start posting his “truths” in the next few days – but none of these things happened.
While YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook are among the top 10 most downloaded apps, according to Similar Web, Truth Social is outside the top 100. Users who log in may find the app a little empty, as many big voices on the American right even now they are far away.
Another study found that downloads dropped by as much as 95%. And many are feeling frustrated. “I signed up for Truth Social a few weeks ago and I’m still on the waiting list,” said one Twitter user on Tuesday. “When I get off the waiting list and join Truth Social for real, Trump will be president again,” joked another.
confused experts
Truth Social chief executive Devin Nunes said its goal was to be “fully operational” by the end of March. But why the app is having so many problems has experts baffled. Some 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 issues, why did it take so long to fix? “It should take a few days to fix, not six weeks,” said a Republican source close to Trump. “There will always be problems at the beginning – but at this point, I had thought it would have been resolved. “No one seems to understand why.” Rival competitors Trump is said to be furious, asking why more people aren’t using Truth Social. He has around 750,000 followers but hasn’t posted a “truth” for over a month.
Trump retains his star quality and any “free speech” app would do its best to have him on their platform. But at the moment, Truth Social has become a little embarrassing. A platform that was supposed to take on the Silicon Valley heavyweights barely managed to get up.
Translated matter from BBC News – James Clayton.
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