Donald Trump Prepares Launch of Truth Social, One Year Since Twitter Ban
Donald Trump's new social media platform is set to launch next month, just over a year after he was permanently suspended from Twitter.
The ex-president first announced in October plans to launch Truth Social, and the app is now listed on Apple's App Store with a launch date of February 21—President's Day.
That date has since been removed from the listing, but an unnamed source familiar with the project told Reuters that February 21 remains the planned date of launch.
The app, created by the Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG), appears to look very similar in design to Twitter based on screenshots on the App Store.
It is unclear if Truth Social, which described itself as a "Big Tent" social media platform that encourages an "open, free, and honest global conversation without discriminating against political ideology," will be available on other devices or the web on February 21.
January 8 marks the first anniversary of Trump being banned from Twitter, the social media app he frequently used to reach his 88 million followers while president.
Twitter announced that Trump was banned two days after the January 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol over fears he would use the app to incite his supporters to commit violence.
Trump was originally temporarily suspended from Twitter on January 6 for violating its policies on civic integrity, and violence after failing to immediately denounce the attack.
He was allowed back on if he removed a number of tweets which pushed his false cries of election fraud or appeared to further incite violence from his supporters.
Twitter then decided to permanently ban Trump "due to the risk of further incitement of violence" following two tweets he sent on January 8.
In the first tweet, Trump described how the "75,000,000 great American Patriots" who voted for him will "not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!"
Twitter said the tweet was concerning given the events of January 6 and how Trump's statements can be "mobilized by different audiences, including to incite violence."
Soon after, Trump tweeted that he would not be attending incoming President Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony on January 20.
Twitter said that the second tweet from Trump could be seen as "encouragement to those potentially considering violent acts that the Inauguration would be a safe; target, as he will not be attending."
Facebook also later suspended Trump from its social network until at least 2023 over fears he could use the platform to incite violence and spread misinformation.
The former president previously attempted to replace his social media presence with his "From the Desk of Donald J. Trump" blog.
However, the site shut down after just a few weeks due to low readership, with the former president now mainly relying on emails from his Save America Super Pac as a way to share his grievances online.
TMTG has been contacted for comment.
