Harsh truth: Trump’s social media app follows long line of failed ventures
By any measure, Truth Social, Donald Trump’s social media platform, has had a rough start.
Engagement is low, the initial flood of downloads of the app have withered to a trickle and the first resignations of its top staff have begun. It’s too soon to tell if it’s a stiff, but as with many Trump businesses that fail to take off, the former US president appears to be washing his hands of it: he has barely used it.
The Twitter clone, where posts are called “truths”, was launched with high expectations on February’s President’s Day. It was briefly the most downloaded free app on Apple. But three weeks after Truth Social was launched, its download chart position dropped to 116. Last week it failed to break the top 200. Onestudy found that downloads have fallen by as much as 95%.
It now seems Truth Social may be heading the same way as Trump Steaks and Trump Vodka, just to name a few. Slapping the Trump name on a product that others produce better just does not work – especially now.
Yet – judging by his public pronouncements – it was meant to be a very different story this time. “I created Truth Social … to stand up to the tyranny of big tech,” Trump said in October, 10 months after he was permanently banned from Twitter.
But users, many anticipating a direct channel to Trump and Trumpist thought as the former president prepares for a 2024 presidential run, have been left sorely disappointed by the Truth Social experience.
An estimated 1.2 million users who have the Apple-only app have faced long wait times to access the platform. “Thank you for joining!” reads the Truth Social prompt. “Due to massive demand, we have placed you on our waitlist.” Even Trump appears to be steering clear, and has still only posted on the platform
Read more on theguardian.com
