Donald Trump is launching a new social network called Truth Social

[ad_1]

Donald Trump is reportedly returning to social media.

Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is launching a new social network called Truth Social, whose goal is to push against Big Tech, according to a statement claimed to have come from one of his companies. Trump Media and Technology Group, which made the announcement, said the social network will begin a limited beta launch in November, with a wider launch expected in the first quarter of 2022.

“I created Truth Social and TMGT to stand up to the tyranny of Big Tech,” Trump said in the newspaper sent to the media. “We live in a world where the Taliban have a presence on Twitter, but your favorite American president has been silenced.”

Get the CNET Today newsletter

Enhance your little conversation with the latest tech news, products and reviews. Delivered on business days.

There is a site for Truth Social where people can join a waiting list for the social network, as well as a link to preorder the iOS app. Screenshots of the app indicate that Truth will have profile pages with a timeline of Twitter -like posts.

Plans to launch a new social network underscore how Trump is trying to re-engage in online public conversation after he freed Twitter, Facebook and Google-owned YouTube from their platform following the deadly U.S. Capitol Hill riot in January.

A mockup of social Truth looks like Twitter.

Screenshot by Queenie Wong / CNET

Trump’s use of Twitter has once again changed politics, allowing him to sideline the mainstream media to try to handle the political narrative. But Twitter permanently banned Trump on Jan. 8, two days after a mob of its supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building in a riot that left many people, including a Capitol Police official. Twitter said the ban was “because of the risk of further incitement to violence.”

Facebook said it would Suspend Trump from its platform until at least 2023. The social network “looked to experts to assess whether the risk to public safety has receded.” Facebook decided after a board tasked with reviewing the toughest content moderation decisions to bolster Trump’s suspension from the platform. YouTube has said it will remove Trump’s suspension from its platform when the “risk of violence is reduced.”

The former president sued the platforms alongside Twitter, alleging censorship and First Amendment violations, even though the First Amendment applies to the government, not to private companies like social media sites. Trump has for some time claimed without evidence that companies are discriminating against the right, a charge that companies have repeatedly denied.

Launching a new social network

Trump has been talking about creating his own social network since he was banned from Twitter, Facebook and Google.

In March, Jason Miller, a senior Trump adviser, told Fox News that the former president would be back with his own social media platform in “two or three months.” Trump started his own official blog in May, but he shut it down a month later.

Despite creating a new social media platform, Trump has not abandoned Twitter. Earlier this month, the former president asked a U.S. district judge to issue a preliminary injunction that would go back to his account as his lawsuit against Twitter went through the courts.

TMTG has agreed to merge with Digital World Acqu acquisition Group, a Miami-based company listed on the Nasdaq, to ​​form a new Trump-led company, according to a press release.

Digital World Acqu acquisition Group is a specialized acquisition company, or “blank check company,” according to a May submission to the Securities and Exchange Commission. SPACs are shell corporations that have no commercial operations listed on a public stock exchange with the intent to acquire or merge with a private company, thus also making them public.

Neither Digital World Acqu acquisition Group nor a representative for Trump immediately responded to requests for comment.

Trump’s efforts to build his own social network are already facing several challenges. The Washington Post reported that an image of a defecating pig on the “donaldjtrump” account of what appeared to be an unreleased trial version of the site was obtained.

[ad_2]