In the wake of the Capitol Hill violence last year, then-president Donald Trump’s Twitter handle and Facebook account were indefinitely suspended. After that, Trump announced plans to author a blog, “From the Desk of Donald J. Trump,” that also folded last year. Now, Reuters reports that the Ex-President’s new social media app called Truth Social is set to launch on the Apple App Store on February 21, which happens to be the Presidents Day holiday.
The report mentions that a test version of Truth Social has been available to a select group of people this week. On February 18, Truth Social’s chief product officer Billy B. answered questions about the new platform using his verified account on the in-development app itself. One of the beta testers asked when Truth Social would be available for the masses, to which the executive responded:
“We’re currently set for release in the Apple App store for Monday, Feb. 21”
Screenshots seen by Reuters showed that on February 16, the app was at version 0.9, but it is at version 1.0 now, ahead of its launch. The chief product officer’s responses to other queries from beta testers suggested that Truth Social would largely resemble Twitter. Although the ability to edit tweets has been long-demanded on Twitter, Truth Social users won’t be able to edit their “Truths” either. According to the executive, support for direct messages on the app is next in line for release.
Truth Social is backed by the Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG), with former Republican US Representative Devin Nunes at the helm. The app would give Trump the social media megaphone he has lacked for over a year. In an interaction with Fox News aired on February 20, Nunes reportedly said Truth Social would start rolling out to Apple users via the App Store this week. He added that the platform aims to be fully operational in the US by March-end.
“This week we will begin to roll out on the Apple App Store. That’s going to be awesome, because we’re going to get so many more people that are going to be on the platform.”
“Our goal is, I think we’re going to hit it, I think by the by the end of March we’re going to be fully operational at least within the United States (sic).”
An anonymous source familiar with the matter said Nunes was encouraging the beta testers to follow more accounts, share images, and engage in conversations to boost activity on the app ahead of its launch.
Truth Social is available as a free download on the App Store for iPhone. It has a package size of just 19.1MB and will run on iOS 11.0 or newer versions. Will you install the app when it rolls out? Do you think it will be able to make a mark for itself in a space where the likes of Parler and Grindr didn’t succeed? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments.
[Via Reuters]
