Truth Social: what is the new social network of Donald Trump, banned from Twitter
Truth Social, a Twitter-like social media platform owned by former President Donald Trump, has launched on the Apple App Store in the United States.
Trump was banned from Twitter, Facebook and YouTube last year.
Some early users said they had difficulties creating an account on the platform.
Project leader, former congressman Devin Nunes, said the new platform will be fully operational by the end of March.
Some of those who tried to register were told: "Due to high demand, we have put you on our waiting list," the Reuters news agency reported.
Created by Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), Truth Social had already been made available for about 500 people to test in beta mode.
Last week, Donald Trump Jr. shared on Twitter a screenshot of his father's first "truth" on the social network: "Get ready. Your favorite president will see you soon."
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Truth Social already had an update for "bug fixes", according to the App Store, and is now at version 1.0.1.
Last fall, hackers discovered a trial version of the app's website and, according to the Washington Post, registered the username donaldjtrump.
Twitter banned the former president after the Capitol invasion on January 6, 2021, claiming he had broken rules about glorifying violence.
Tech analysts pointed out that Truth Social's buttons are similar to Twitter's "reply", "retweet" and "like" functions.
uncensored
On its website, Truth Social describes itself as a "'wide tent' social media platform that encourages an open, free and honest global conversation without discriminating by political ideology".
Trump wants Truth Social to uphold "freedom of speech" and avoid "censorship" as he says happens on sites like Twitter and Facebook.
Many conservatives accuse Silicon Valley social media companies of restricting free speech by removing posts and users.
"We can't use any of the big tech companies," said Nunes, who resigned from his congressional seat in December to become TMTG's chief executive. "So we're having to build everything from scratch."
Nunes promised that Truth Social will be a "censorship-free experience".
Former congressman Devin Nunes, who resigned from his post to work for Trump, said the new platform will be fully operational by the end of March.
End of Podcast
But any social media platform on the App Store and Google Play needs to remove content that violates their rules. And a truly uncensored platform would soon be pulled from stores.
At his height on Twitter, Trump had more than 88 million followers.
But none of the other alternative platforms that claim to be free of censorship, like Gettr, Parler, Gab and Rumble, have attracted audiences comparable to those of the big social networks.
Companies like Twitter "have had years to develop their platforms and build their audiences," says Darrell West, senior researcher for technology innovation at the Brookings Institution, a consultancy.
"I think he'll soon find out that it's a lot harder than he thinks," he said. "If that were easy, I think he would have done it six months ago."
Last year, Apple and Google removed the Parler platform from their stores, as the social network failed to remove posts that encouraged violence and illegal activity.
Parler was given permission to return, but only after agreeing to Apple and Google's terms of service.
"There's just no way to avoid the big tech companies," says West.
"Even if he [Trump] has his own platform, if he's violating the terms of service [of the Apple and Google stores], they can basically remove your app from the app store, which would make it very difficult for him to form a public."
Gettr, which also advocates "free speech" and resembles Twitter, was founded last year by former Trump aide and spokesman Jason Miller.
"There is no ready-made formula for creating a social media platform," he told BBC News.
"You have to find good talent. And frankly, there are a lot of people who are scared... because people worry about having experience in a company that challenges the big tech companies on their resumes."
Truth Social will also have to be strong enough to protect against hackers.
"We have so many people who don't want us to succeed... even foreign governments and other evil actors," Nunes said.
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