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Is Truth Social the new Parler? Internet finds name of Donald Trump's app 'ironic'

'Well at least the content the FBI will be looking for will be all in one place,' said a user, referring to Trump's new app

After months of teasing, and a failed blog, Donald Trump is finally getting serious about social media. The former President announced a new platform, named Truth Social under his new business Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG). Naturally, the announcement was met with merciless memes and mockery, as social media users piled on the jokes. The platform will launch in 2022, but an early version has already been hacked into.

Truth Social joins a long list of alt-right websites vying for attention, as conservatives aim to move away from Facebook and Twitter. So far, Parler has been booted off Amazon's servers, and from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. While it did make a comeback of sorts in February 2021, it has since been surpassed by other alternatives like Gettr. Unfortunately, both sites have been subjected to regular hacks, becoming popular punching bags for trolls online.

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Unfortunately for Trump, it seems like Truth Social is already facing issues. Despite the site not yet being open for visitors, Daily Dot's tech writer Mikael Thalen was able to find a URL and log in, creating a fake Trump account in the process. His tweet also revealed a UI for the platform, built very similar to that of Twitter. 

What is Truth Social?

In a press release on October 20, TMTG said its goal was "to create a rival to the liberal media consortium and fight back against the "big tech" companies of Silicon Valley." The result of that goal is Truth Social, which is now available to preorder on Apple's App Store. A limited beta will launch in November 2021, with a nationwide rollout expected in the first quarter of 2022.  The former President also weighed in, saying, "We live in a world where the Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter, yet your favorite American President has been silenced. Everyone asks me why doesn't someone stand up to Big Tech? Well, we will be soon!" 

As Thalen's screenshots showed, the app seems very inspired by Twitter, including a limited character count (500) on posts, with the word 'Tweet' replaced by 'Truth!' to publish. Another screenshot includes an option to add a header image, and avatar as well as website link and location, very much like Twitter. The loophole he used now appears to be blocked, as he confirmed in a later tweet. 

As soon as the platform was launched, a deluge of data and information made its way into the public. Philip Bump of The Washington Post tweeted, "The terms and conditions of Trump's new social site are VERY specific that you can't harass or annoy it or its staff— but says nothing about other users." Meidas Touch reported that the CEO of TMTG is Patrick Orlando, the CEO of China Yunhong Holdings Ltd, a Wuhan-based entity. Concerningly, the terms of service also state users lose their right to file a class-action suit on signing up.  

Beyond that, there's not much we know about Truth Social. Until the website launches, we won't get a look at it. In the meantime though, here's what social media had to say about Trump's new platform.

'Some real Orwellian s***'

Humor columnist Rex Huppke tweeted, "Trump starting a company called TRUTH Social is like Jeffrey Dahmer starting a company called NOT-A-CANNIBAL Teen Safety Services." Another mocked, "Breaking: Facebook is renaming itself as Truth Social." One user tweeted, "Trump Media & Technology Group. Truth Social. Both are going to go belly up, just like every other business Trump has had."

One user mocked, ""Truth Social" sounds like some kind of after school club where everyone makes wristbands and virginity pacts." Justin Amash tweeted, "A former president seeking to reclaim power announcing that he’ll soon be sending out his “first TRUTH” via his new platform “TRUTH Social” is some real Orwellian s***." One person commented, "I expect Trump Media & Technology Group's "Truth Social" will be as much about the truth as "Fox News" is about the news... Well at least the content the FBI will be looking for will be all in one place."

Another user tweeted, "Has Trump’s TRUTH social media platform declared bankruptcy yet??" One person dryly noted, "It's ironic how Donald Trump is launching a social media site call Truth Social, which will ultimately be filled with lies."

You can now sign up for the platform at www.truthsocial.com. Reportedly, the firm behind the app - TMTG - will be listed on Nasdaq. It's not immediately clear if Trump or his family has any direct role in the company. Truth Social isn't the only offering from TMTG though, the company will also launch a video-on-demand service that would feature "non woke" entertainment programming, news, and podcasts.