Just like the political figure who invented it, the social network Truth is also decidedly controversial.
The platform was born amid a thousand controversies. And especially after its creator, former US President Donald Trump, was banned from Facebook and Twitter following the assault on Capitol Hill.
Since then, Trump had tried several avenues to strengthen his presence on the net. Including that of a personal blog, abandoned after a brief and rather inglorious presence.
Truth, Trump’s social network
After that, finally, his idea of a personal social network has materialized, with a very high-sounding name: Truth (Truth). The former president’s social network landed on iOS last February (but only for users who come from the United States and Canada). And already in the first hours of its release there was no shortage of technical problems.
In the first months of its release, as we have told in another article, Donald Trump’s social network has shown itself well below expectations.
E now there are two new problems that are not easy to manage. The first is that Truth will not land on Android, at least for now: it has not been approved by Google Play.
The second is a sensational accusation made by NewsGuard, according to which Truth promotes QAnon, a far-right organization that promotes a curious conspiracy theory.
Truth: no Android, Google said no
Cold shower for Donald Trump: Truth doesn’t land on Android.
The decision, although not final, is nevertheless of great impact. The reasons for the disapproval by Google Play must be found in the insufficient moderation of the contents. Which would be particularly weak especially with regard to threats and incitement to violence.
A note from Google reads: “On August 19, we notified Truth Social of several violations of the standard rules in the current submission of the app and reiterated that having effective systems to moderate user-generated content is a condition of our terms of service. for any app to be published on Google Play. Last week, Truth Social responded to our feedback saying it is working to fix these problems. “
Truth’s reply
Truth executives replied, saying they have “continuously worked in good faith with Google to ensure that the Truth Social Android application complies with Google’s policies. without compromising the promise of being a refuge for free speech ”.
And noting that “some competing apps are allowed on the Google Play Store despite rampant violation of Google’s ban on sexual content and other policies, while Truth Social has zero tolerance for sexually explicit content.”
Does Truth Promote QAnon?
Closely related to Google’s rejection for lack of attention to content moderation is the disruptive accusation made by NewsGuard.
The title of the report leaves very little room for imagination: “Trump and his Truth Social platform actively promote QAnon.”
We remind you that NewsGuard is an evaluation tool that, thanks to the work of a pool of journalists and professionals in the information sector, judges the sites that publish news and information on the basis of nine journalistic criteria inspired by the standards of credibility and transparency.
The NewsGuard allegations
As can be read in the long report, NewsGuard’s allegations are stark. “NewsGuard has found that, using their popular Truth Social accounts, Trump and other platform managers and founders regularly promote QAnon profiles and messages on Truth Social. These include Truth Social CEO Devin Nunes, a former Republican congressman, and Patrick Orlando, general manager of Digital World Acquisition Corporation, the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that funds Truth Social. that generate profits through stock exchange listings). “
The refuge of the followers of QAnon
From the NewsGuard survey it seems that Truth has become the refuge of QAnon followers, banned from Twitter and other social networks.
Truth, NewsGuard explains, has awarded verified profile status to 47 profiles promoting QAnon, all with more than 10,000 followers. Who have obtained a mark as users “frequently sought as public figures”.
NewsGuard then identified 88 users who promoted concepts attributable to QAnon on Trump’s social network. Of these 88 users, 32 were previously banned from Twitter.
If we add to this the economic problems of Truth, which is talked about with increasing insistence (it seems that the debts amount to 1.6 million dollars), it does not seem that Trump’s social network is too auspicious for a possible one. reappointment to the presidency of the United States.