Former President Donald Trump’s new social media venture, Truth Social, launched shortly before the Presidents’ Day holiday on Apple’s App Store.
The app was available to download shortly before midnight ET after Trump’s company said back in January that it planned a full rollout in the first quarter of 2022.
Truth Social’s app store page detailing its version history showed the first public version of the app, or version 1.0 was available on Feb. 20. It reads “Welcome to the first public release of Truth Social.”
Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) and Digital World Acquisition Corp., a Special Purpose Acquisition Vehicle (SPAC), announced in October that they would merge to create the social media app.
Promoted as an alternative to Twitter, Truth Social allows users to set up a profile, connect with other users, and access the “truth feed” where they can “get the scoop on the latest thoughts and activities from the people, organizations, and news outlets that interest you.”
The app states that it does not discriminate on the basis of political ideology.
However, the rollout did not come without some technical issues.
Some users reported either having trouble registering for an account or were added to a waitlist and presented with a message that reads, “Due to massive demand, we have placed you on our waitlist. We love you, and you’re not just another member to us. But your waitlist number is below.”
Some users are also receiving an error message when they try to enter a birthdate, email, or phone number and are instead greeted with the message, “Something went wrong. Please try again,” CNET reports.
According to Truth Social’s app store page, the current version 1.0.1 includes “bug fixes.”
For some users in Europe, the app is still not available for download.
Speaking of the app, TMTG chief executive officer Devin Nunes told Fox News that “every day we bring on more and more Americans and we’re getting to you as quickly as possible.”
“We’re doing something that is really … just such a great opportunity for President Trump, for me, for our whole team that’s working at TMTG around the clock, especially as you see the excitement of people who have been booted from social media for the last two or three years,” the former Republican congressman said. “I mean, there’s excitement on our platform right now and people, it’s inspirational.
“Honestly, it’s just it’s actually very moving for me to see people that are on the platform that have had their voice canceled—and that’s our main goal here is to give people their voice back,” he added.
Trump’s app comes after he was booted off multiple social media platforms—including Twitter and Facebook—before he left office in January for allegedly violating the companies’ terms of service with some of his posts.
Big tech executives and lawmakers have accused him of encouraging violence at the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol.
Trump has vehemently denied those claims.
In his last Facebook post, Trump called on the protesters at the Capitol to “go home peacefully,” adding, “we have to have peace. We have to have law and order. We have to respect our great people in law and order. We don’t want anybody hurt.”
He also said the Nov. 3 election was fraught with voter fraud and maintains that he was the real winner of the 2020 presidential election.
Source: The Epoch Times
