Many thousands were unable register on the new platform, and were placed on a waiting list.
Donald Trump’s latest social media venture, Truth Social launched late Sunday night in Apple’s App Store. This could mark the ex-president’s return to social networking after being banned from many platforms last year.
It was available just before midnight ET, and was the most downloaded app on the App Store in the early hours of Monday. Users who pre-ordered Truth Social were automatically downloaded the app to their Apple Inc devices.
Many users complained of having difficulty registering or being added to a waiting list with the message “Due to huge demand, we have placed your name on our waitlist.”
Reuters reported that the app was available to anyone who requested it during its testing phase.
After he was accused inciting violence with his messages, Trump was removed from Twitter Inc, Facebook, and Alphabet Inc’s YouTube.
Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), which is led by Devin Nunes, a former Republican Representative, joins a growing list of technology companies that aim to be champions for free speech and draw people who feel their views are being suppressed on established platforms.
None of the companies that are newer, including Twitter competitors Gettr, Parler, and video site Rumble have been able to match the popularity of mainstream competitors.
“This week, we will start to roll out the Apple App Store. It’s going be amazing, because we’re getting so many people on the platform,” Nunes stated in a Sunday appearance with Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo.
He stated, “Our goal is, i think we’re going towards it, I think by March the United States will be fully operational at minimum within the United States,”
Truth Social’s app store page describing its version history revealed that the first public version, or version 1.0, was available a day earlier, confirming a Reuters Report. According to the page, the current version 1.0.1 contains “bug fixes.”
Summarizing support
According to one person familiar with the matter, Nunes visited the app on Friday to encourage users to follow more accounts and share photos and videos.
One of Nunes’ posts was that he received a new user, who looked to be a Catholic priest, and encouraged him to invite other priests to join the group, according to a person with knowledge of this matter.
Although details about the app are beginning to leak, TMTG is still kept under wraps and is viewed with suspicion by some tech and media professionals. For example, it is not clear how the company funds its current growth.
TMTG plans to list in New York via a merger with blank check firm Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC). DWAC will receive $293 million in cash in trust, assuming that no DWAC shareholder redeems his shares.
Moreover, TMTG also raised $1 billion in committed financing from private investors in December; this money will not be available until the DWAC agreement is closed.
According to a regulatory filing, Digital World’s activities were under review by the Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. The deal is expected to close in the coming months.
