The ‘Truth’ about Trump’s app

What does former President Donald Trump do when he can’t get his way?

He tends to find some backwards way to gain a sense of control.

Following the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump was removed from many social media platforms, including his preferred site – Twitter.

Without Twitter, his other platforms, and his failed blog (From the Desk of Donald J. Trump), the former president decided to create his own social media platform.

Truth Media.

Truth Media made its debut on Monday, Feb. 21, but many users are still unable to use the app, having been put on a waitlist.

So what is Truth Media?

Essentially, it is just like Twitter, but with Trump.

A screenshot posted by a user who got into the app shows how similar it looks to Twitter.

You have your own @, and can reply, like, and repost.

Instead of Twitter’s standard white background and blue check mark, Truth Social is dark blue with red checkmarks.

Trump even uses the same handle as his old Twitter account.

There is little to no opinion on how the app performs because everyone seems to be on the waitlist.

But there are many tweets about users leaving Twitter for Truth Social and “taking down Twitter.”

The reality is, people aren’t leaving Twitter because they don’t like Twitter. They’re leaving to continue to subscribe, support and help Trump regain his platform despite the damage he has done.

I downloaded the app for journalistic reasons (because I would never subscribe to anything Trump-related) and I was told I would be receiving a confirmation email that would let me move forward in creating my account.

I never received an email.

I can’t tell you about my experience on the app, but I can tell you why this app could mean trouble.

Trump is known for spreading false information and hate speech on social media.

His posts on Twitter have been especially harmful toward people of color, women and the LGBTQIA+ community.

In an article written by Elizabeth Weise for USA Today, Russell Jeung, a professor of Asian-American studies at San Francisco State University, said, “We immediately saw a surge mid-March 2020 of hate incidents directed against Asian-Americans.” That was Trump began addressing the COVID-19 virus as the “Chinese virus,” which started on Twitter.

Despite Trump using Twitter to spread hate speech for years, the social media company took action after the attack at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump’s account was permanently removed for tweeting statements that could entice another incident like Jan 6.

This new platform is concerning because it is run by someone who is okay with spreading misinformation that can be highly damaging and harmful. While the terms of service says that hate speech and harassment is prohibited, it is questionable if those guidelines will be followed since we’ve seen other platforms fall short when enforcing their terms.

Will this new social media platform focus on presenting factual information?

Or is this just a way for Trump to get his message to the masses again?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Previous post COVID Chronicles: Alone, she passed away
Next post ‘Digital First’ or students first?