Former President Donald Trump is planning to launch his own media company, which will then establish its own social media platform called "TRUTH Social." Trump said the purpose of having his own social media platform is his way of standing up to the "tyranny of Big Tech."
Trump's media company, Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG), is set to be listed on the NASDAQ through a merger with Digital World Acquisition Group. A Trump spokesperson said the SPAC merger and the listing should value TMTG at up to $1.7 billion.
Digital World Acquisition is a blank-check company that was created for the purpose of merging with other companies. TMTG has reportedly entered into a definitive merger agreement with it, which will allow TMTG to be a publicly listed company.
Trump has made it clear that his plans are solely aimed at reducing his dependence on traditional social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. Due to his controversial posts, Trump had been banned by major social media platforms on several occasions. Earlier this year, his accounts were banned after he published several posts that led to the U.S. Capitol riots.
"We live in a world where the Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter, yet your favorite American president has been silenced," Trump said.
Since his clashes with the social media companies, Trump had repeatedly threatened to launch his own social media app. Trump and his team of advisors have been dropping hints of creating a rival to Twitter and Facebook.
Trump attempted to operate his own website modeled after Twitter. However, the project did not last as it was shut down just a month after it was launched. Earlier this month, Trump filed a request to a federal judge aimed at forcing Twitter to reopen his account.
Trump representatives said the new TRUTH Social app is nearly completed and a beta version will soon be released to invited users next month. The app is also currently available for pre-order on the Apple App Store. TMTG plans to fully release the app to the public by the first quarter of 2022.
Apart from the new social media app, TMTG also plans to launch a new subscription video-on-demand service that would include entertainment programming, podcasts, and news.
