It thundered so much that it drizzled one of those drizzles that didn’t even seem to get wet.
Truth, Trump’s social network announced several times and then postponed, does not really seem born under the best auspices. It seems, if anything, to trace the not too happy moment of its creator.
The former president of the United States, after being put on the sidelines of US politics, also suffered a severe social ostracism. For example, we recall that, after the attack on Capitol Hill on January 6 last year, Twitter permanently removed his account.
Not bad for Trump, who immediately thought of a social network of his own. However Truth, despite the undoubtedly ambitious name (which means Truth, but the Soviet Union had already thought of it with Pravda), it has definitely not taken off.
And all in all, it was already raising more than a few doubts during its making. Let’s find out the reasons why Truth, Trump’s social network, for now looks like a resounding flop.
The flop of Truth: the few downloads
A social platform called Verità, which has managed to raise over a billion dollars in funds, should have started by putting the competition to the test.
Yet this was not the case. Truth, Trump’s social network, has been available since February 21 for iOS users. And immediately after its appearance in the App Store, several download problems were reported.
But major problems are emerging more than a month after the debut of the social network (not yet available, however, for Android users).
The first is that of the members. Truth, the social network that according to Trump would have eroded the excessive power of Big tech, currently travels on about 500,000 active daily users. Against, to give an idea, the 217 million of Twitter.
Additionally, downloads of the Truth Social app have plummeted. After the 866,000 in the week of the launch, it dropped to 60,000 in the week of March 14. It is estimated that Trump’s social network has been downloaded 1.2 million times globally, against – for example – the 11.3 million downloads of Parler, another app with an ultra-conservative spirit.
Truth, Trump’s social network… without Trump
And just as Twitter is gloating over the entry of Elon Musk (a regular giver of tweets) as the majority shareholder, it is impossible not to catch a glaring inconsistency.
Donald Trump himself, after preparing the world audience for the launch of his social network, well … he practically never wrote to you. Precisely he who, before being banned, was a rather compulsive (and often reckless, in terms of message quality) frequenter of social platforms.
An announcement of February 14 remains as the only appearance of the former American president. In which we read: “Get Ready! Your favorite President will see you soon! ” (Get ready, your favorite president will see you soon). One would have to answer that we are still waiting for it.
The technical problems
Not even the technical problems, which had already shown themselves at the debut of the social network, seem to give Truth a respite.
A large percentage of users are unable to sign up. And it is parked on an unspecified waiting list, which by now should already count one and a half million (potential) users.
Meanwhile, no news or rumors about the Android version of Truth. That represents 40% of the US market.
Two managers leave the project
But there are not only negative signs of a technical nature.
Two top managers involved in the project immediately took a step back. Technology-savvy Josh Adams and Billy Boozer have resigned from their respective positions. Contacted by Reuters, the two did not comment.
But in the world there are many who say that, given the top roles they played within the Truth project, their release could make the future of the social network even more uncertain.
Not exactly a new social network
In fact, Truth, Trump’s social network, had aroused more than a few perplexities even before the launch. Despite the vetoes suffered on various social networks in the aftermath of the Capitol Hill assault, Trump had sworn battle, announcing that he would design a personal platform.
But already in recent months, many had noticed an embarrassing resemblance to the German platform Mastodon, whose source code Truth allegedly illegally used. While others have seen far too many graphic affinities with Twitter.
The liveliest memory readers will perhaps remember the unfortunate adventure of “From the Desk of Donald J. Trump,” the former president’s blog, which opened and closed within a few weeks. Far be it from us to bestow bad wishes, but for now, Truth’s future doesn’t look bright either.