Truth Social, the network created by former President Donald Trump, launched this week amid a wide range of technical glitches and long wait times for users wanting to sign up. Trump established the social network in response to bans of his accounts by other platforms, including Twitter, for spreading misinformation.
The network is a self-styled “free speech zone” where Trump and his supporters hope to communicate without interference from big tech companies like Amazon, which kicked the Trump-friendly site, Parler, off its servers in early 2021 after Parler users used the site to connect and plan the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Tech expert Omar Gallaga says one way Truth Social hopes to remain online is by using servers belonging to a startup with ties to Trump’s conservative movement.
Highlights from this segment:
– Many who tried to join or access Truth Social after its launch on Monday have not been able to do so.
– Truth Social uses an iOS app and a website. There’s currently no Android app available.
– Though the network says it provides a home for free speech, there are a variety of restrictions, including prohibitions on criticizing the site’s operators, use of excessive capital letters, advocacy of violence, content related to sexual fetishes or sexually suggestive phrases and a lot more.
– RightForge, the company hosting Truth Social’s content, says it will not get involved in content decisions made by its customers. It is run by a political consultant and a magazine editor who are sympathetic to Trump’s message.
