Truth Social, a right-wing social network, has faced one business disaster after another since launching in February. The launch of the app was hit by problems, and two executives resigned. Another executive was fired after he blew the whistle, accusing Truth’s parent company of relying on “fraudulent misrepresentations.” Two federal investigations put $1.3 billion in much-needed funding at risk.
But those who logged into Truth Social daily saw something very different back then. It was that a thriving right-wing ecosystem was becoming more and more active.
While Truth Social’s long-term future remains in doubt, experts say the app itself is only gaining influence among conservatives ahead of the midterm elections.
Much of that is thanks to one of the app’s founders and stars, former President Donald J. Trump, who now uses Truth Social as his primary megaphone to the world. His posts on the site reach his over 4 million followers and regularly generate reactions on mainstream news and social media sites.
He has now been joined on the “Truth Social” by a coalition of right-wing Americans that includes conservative celebrities such as radio host and television commentator Dan Bongino. political agitators like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia; and a group of conspiracy theory peddlers, far-right influencers, and ordinary voters.
Similarweb, a company that monitors web traffic, estimates that the website had 1.7 million unique visitors from the United States in September. There is little competition from mainstream sites like Facebook and Twitter. But with an average of about 360,000 unique visitors from the U.S. this month, he outpaces Truth Social’s closest social media rivals, including Gab, Parler, Gettr, MeWe, and Minds.
“How many people are using Truth Social?” asked Kari Lake, a Republican candidate for Arizona governor who has repeatedly raised questions about election integrity, at a recent rally. The crowd erupted in applause. “If you haven’t ridden yet, get out there and ride right away.”
The site has become an important organizing platform for election deniers ahead of the midterm elections, stoking concerns about voter fraud and spreading rumors about problems at polling places. One group used the site to facilitate stakeout of ballot boxes in search of illegal votes, and the photos they posted went viral and helped spur similar efforts in at least 10 states.
Trump has used the site as a public forum for his legal defense amid multiple investigations. He continues to shape Republican talking points and back candidates in close races. And he has embraced messages and images from QAnon, a conspiracy theory movement that has also found a new home on Truth Social.
“I believe that Truth Social is a place where different factions come together,” said Josephine Luquito, an assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Texas at Austin who studies the relationship between disinformation and violence. he said. “Both traditional Republicans who support Trump and more far-right, extremist and conspiracy theorists.”
The real test for Truth Social could come in the coming months, as initial excitement about the app wears off and funding issues may surface. The site shows little sign of attracting a wider range of users across political lines, but it will need to do so to achieve the lofty goals the company set before the app’s release.
The site’s parent company, Trump Media and Technology Group, is hopeful about the deal announced a year ago. We partnered with Digital World Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company that raised $300 million in an initial public offering. The company later received commitments from 30 hedge funds to provide an additional $1 billion in financing after the merger was completed.
But an investigation by federal prosecutors and securities regulators could force Digital World into liquidation in early December, returning the funds raised in the IPO to shareholders and potentially derailing the merger. Billion dollars is now in doubt. Digital World is struggling to get shareholders to approve a measure that would give it until September to complete its merger with Trump Media. The SPAC faces a new deadline to secure its vote on Thursday.
If the deal with Digital World falls through, Trump Media will need to come up with the funds to keep TruthSocial running. It raised about $37 million, mostly from Republican political donors.
William Wilkerson, a former Trump media executive who was fired in October after publicly saying he blew the whistle on the Securities and Exchange Commission, said in an interview that the company burns through about $1.7 million in cash each month. Ta. . Truth Social recently started advertising on their site.
But Wilkerson said a viable alternative if the Digital World deal fails is a deal with Rumble, a conservative video-sharing service to replace YouTube, where Trump Media has emerged as a major business partner. He said he would consider a merger.
Mr. Wilkerson and another person familiar with Truth Social’s operations said Rumble employees make up about half of the employees at Trump Media’s offices in Sarasota, Florida. Rumble provides much of its back-office work to Truth Social. In August, Trump’s company joined the video-sharing company’s advertising platform.
Rumble recently completed a merger with a SPAC, leaving it with about $400 million in cash.
“It is very likely that Rumble is a publicly traded company,” Wilkerson said in an interview with his legal team of Philip Brewster, Patrick Mincey and Stephen Bell.
Trump Media did not discuss a possible future merger with Rumble. But in an emailed statement, the company blamed the SEC for the delay in completing its merger with Digital World.
Trump Media said, “Despite its stated protections for individual shareholders, the SEC is deliberately harming individual shareholders in an illegal political targeting scheme, and in doing so, “We should expect there to be consequences.”
Rumble did not respond to requests for comment.
The combination of Rumble and Trump Media makes it an impressive alternative to Twitter, especially as Truth Social faces increasing competitive threats from Elon Musk, who completed his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter on Thursday. May present conservative options. He has promised more lenient moderation policies that could alienate some conservatives, including Trump himself, from Truth Social. Mr. Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, also plans to buy Parler in a deal that could attract conservative users.
“I like Elon, but I continue to believe in the truth,” Trump said in a Fox News interview after Musk took office.
But those risks loom large over a series of small wins for Truth Social, culminating this month with the release of its long-delayed Android app, which reached about 40 percent of Americans using that operating system. It is now possible. (The iPhone app was released in February.)
“Has anyone noticed that Truth Social is number one, ahead of TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, Amazon, etc.?” Asked. “I just asked!”
In a Pew Research Center survey conducted in May, 27% of U.S. adults said they had heard of Truth Social, ahead of Gettr, Gab, and video streaming websites Rumble and BitChute. Only Parler, which launched six years ago, was better known.
Trump is keeping the app relevant. His 4 million followers are a shadow of the 88 million who subscribed to his frenetic Twitter feed before his arrest in January 2021 over fears he would incite violence. , his “truth” may resonate far beyond the confines of the Truth ecosystem.
After federal agents raid Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home for classified documents, Trump says the ‘truth’ is that the agency was corrupted by Democrats and that the documents may have been planted. made unsubstantiated claims that the documents had been completely declassified. time.
“If he wants that message to penetrate the Twittersphere, he needs to get people to screenshot it, post it, or write something about it,” said a senior researcher at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. Manager Jared Holt said. “It happens all the time.”
According to Samelweb data, the day after the Mar-a-Lago search, web traffic to Truth Social increased by more than double its previous average.
A few days later, an armed man tried to break into FBI offices in Cincinnati and was later killed by law enforcement. A Truth Social account with the name of Ricky Schiffer, the name of the man identified by law enforcement, posted about the search for Mar-a-Lago and told followers to “get everything you need to prepare for battle. Please,” he called out.The same account appears to have confessed to attacking the FBI.
“It showed that the platform was reaching a milestone,” Holt said. “Because the unfortunate truth is that on any platform, when you get big enough, you have to deal with someone doing something like that.”
audio creator Adrian Hirst.