App launch in February: Trump is pushing back online

After being banned from Twitter and Facebook, ex-President Trump tried in vain to become visible online again. His “Truth Social” app is due to start in February. Will this really be a success?

Former US President Donald Trump’s media company wants to launch its long-promised Internet platform in February. However, it is not yet clear whether there should only be a mobile app or a web version as well. The “Truth Social” app should at least come out on February 21st. The company says it has now received $ 1 billion in funding.

There are screenshots in the Android and Apple stores that look a lot like a one-to-one copy of Twitter. Even the icon images for replies, retweets and post sharing are similar to Twitter. That should certainly not be a coincidence, because Trump’s favorite social media mouthpiece in the past was the short message service from San Francisco. After his followers forcibly stormed the Capitol exactly a year ago, Twitter had banned him for life. He was also banned from Facebook and YouTube.

Little interest in Trump’s blog

The new app is not Trump’s first attempt to join the discussion online again. In May he had already made an attempt and started blogging Twitter-length on the web. The website was shut down after less than a month. Apparently because she had hardly aroused any interest.

There is a form for the new offer that can be used to register on a waiting list. According to Trump, the offer is already in a beta phase, but is only available to invited guests who can put the service through its paces.

The online offer is managed by the former congressman Devin Nunes from California. He was noticed in the Trump era for his particular loyalty to the former US president. If Tump has its way, the platform should be built as an alternative to the established Internet companies. It is not yet possible to say whether he will be successful with it. With Gettr, Parler and Gab there are already some right-wing extremist offers.

Company is suing Trump

To make matters worse for him, the open source software company Mastodon has sued him: It claims that the Trump company uses software that is actually freely available to the general public – while Trump identifies it as protected by copyright.