HIGHLIGHTS
- Visitors to the App Store could pre-order Truth Social.
- Monday is Presidents Day in the United States.
- According to reports, the organisation has $1.25 billion in assets (roughly Rs. 9,320 crore)
Truth Social, Donald Trump's new social media network, is set to launch gradually this week and could be "completely operational" by late March, possibly reviving the former president's visibility more than a year after he was banned from major social media platforms.
"We will begin to roll out to folks on the Apple App store this week," said Devin Nunes, CEO of the Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), which owns the new app. The former Republican congressman was commenting on conservative Fox News on Sunday.
"I believe we'll be completely operating - at least within the United States - by the end of March," continued Nunes, who resigned from the US House to oversee the Trump group.
Trump has touted Truth Social as an alternative to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, all of which banned him when his followers attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The former president is accused of encouraging his supporters to use force in an attempt to alter the outcome of the 2020 election.
On Sunday, the App Store announced that visitors could pre-order Truth Social beginning Monday, Presidents Day in the United States.
"It's actually extremely touching for me to see folks on the podium whose voices have been cancelled," Nunes added.
'The Truth is on its way.'
"We want (customers) to tell us what they want to see on the platform, which is the polar opposite of some Silicon Valley tech oligarch freak telling people what they want to believe and selecting who can and cannot be on the platform," he explained.
Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, also intend to sell 10,000 NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, depicting crucial milestones in Trump's administration on Monday. NFTs are digital photographs that have been certified and may be bought and traded.
"Truth is coming..." tweeted Rep. Elise Stefanik, the third-ranking Republican in the House, on Friday, referring to the foreboding catchphrase of the HBO series "Game of Thrones" ("Winter is coming").
She tweeted a screenshot of her message on Truth Beta, the new site's beta version, with the caption, "I'm so pleased to be on Truth!"
And Donald Trump Jr. congratulated his father on Twitter, writing, "Time for some Truth!!!" and posting what he said was his father's first post on Truth Social: "Prepare yourselves! Your beloved President will be there shortly!"
The organisation apparently has a $1.25 billion (approximately Rs. 9,320 crore) fortune as it seeks a position in a crowded conservative social-media industry, including the Gettr, Parler, and Gab platforms.
Trump had 89 million followers on Twitter before being banned, and he used the medium often, both for presidential announcements and to bash opponents.
Trump, 75, has indicated but never stated firmly if he will run for president again.
He is presently the subject of various investigations and lawsuits, including those relating to his tax returns and his efforts to maintain power after losing the 2020 election.
