Details are flowing about Donald Trump's new social media app "Truth Social," as around 500 beta testers have begun using an early version of the platform. Former U.S. President Trump announced his plans for the new social media platform last October, promising to compete with tech companies that barred him from using their platforms following the Capitol events. His media and technology project, the "Trump Media & Technology Group," has committed to offering an "interactive, censorship-free experience" on the "Truth Social" app.
The "TMTG" group remains shrouded in secrecy, and it is viewed with skepticism by many in tech and media circles. Comments from beta testers this week indicate that the platform bears a striking resemblance to "Twitter." The "Truth Social" platform allows users to post and share "truths" in much the same way they do with tweets, and there are no ads on the platform. Users choose whom to follow, and the feed is a mixture of individual posts and news summaries similar to "RSS." Notifications are sent if someone mentions or starts following them.
According to one screenshot, the app states, "A new direct messaging experience will be available soon. Please stay tuned." By late Wednesday, Trump's account on the new site had 317 followers, down from the 88 million he had before being banned from "Twitter." Trump's account displays a single truth posted three days ago, stating: "Get ready! Your favorite president will be back soon!"
Donald Trump Jr. highlighted his father's first post on the "Truth Social" site on "Twitter." The "TMTG" group released an updated version of the app, "Truth Social 0.9," on Wednesday morning, which is being tested for bug fixes to facilitate "retweeting," referred to as re-truthing on "Truth Social," along with image attribution, troubleshooting, and account creation.
On Wednesday morning, Devin Nunes, CEO of the "TMTG" group, who joined the app on February 10, posted: "Good morning, Truth Testers. Please take a screenshot of any errors and report them to the developers."
