Donald Trump’s social media company lost more than $6 million in its first six months of operation and is reportedly in a dispute over late payments with his hosting company, according to a report in the Times.
Truth Social was founded in February as a “multi-collector” social networking platform. A copy of Twitter, which Trump banned from it in January 2021, was the first product of the former president’s fledgling media company, which was founded to create a “media and technology powerhouse” that would compete with America’s largest broadcasting, publishing and technology companies, according to filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
Trump joined the platform in April, posting a photo of himself on a croquet lawn at his Mar-a-Lago beach club. But Truth Social has been plagued by technical glitches, and its audience has fallen from 1.5 million views a day in February to 300,000 a day last month, according to analyst Similarweb.
It lost $6.2 million in the first six months, said Digital World Acquisition, the company that plans to take the startup public. Trump Media & Technology Group is also at loggerheads with RightForge, an internet infrastructure company that provides it with web hosting services, according to Fox Business, which cited unnamed sources.
Truth Social owes RightForge $1.6M and RightForge is threatening legal action. Martin Avila, CEO of RightForge, said his company believes in creating a “second web to support American ideas online” and that it continues to support Trump “in his media efforts.” He declined to comment on the alleged dispute.
Truth Social had 9.9 million monthly visitors in April, but the numbers dropped in May and again in June, when it had 7.6 million visitors. While activity increased after the FBI raid, it has since declined again.
Trump had 89 million Twitter followers when he was banned after the Capitol riots “due to the risk of further inciting violence.” He has 3.9 million followers on Truth Social and the platform’s success is closely tied to his own fortunes, Digital World Acquisition said. He said that while Trump Media believes there is a demand for a “real free speech platform,” its success will depend on Trump’s popularity.
Source: Capital
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