Trump's Twitter alternative goes online
Former US President Donald Trump is back in the spotlight with his own social media platform. After he was barred from Twitter and Facebook, his followers can now download "Truth Social" from the Apple App Store. The platform is to be developed step by step and be fully operational by the end of March. Is it dangerous or boring?
Get ready!
Trump's social network will have to be taken seriously, the Süddeutsche Zeitung fears:
“He raised one billion dollars in the first round of investment for his new media company. He did so using business law tricks that bordered on illegality, but in the digital world a number with eight zeros is a benchmark that no one can surpass. ... In any case, Trump's first message was, 'Get ready! Your favourite president will see you soon!' Once he's committed to running again in the 2024 election campaign, that should certainly be taken as a threat. Of the 75 million Americans who voted for him in 2020 many still believe he won.”
A boring far-right echo chamber
Interest in Trump's platform will quickly wane because of a lack of diversity of opinion, columnist Skylar Baker-Jordan predicts in The Independent:
“One can certainly debate whether Twitter has gone too far in policing speech - I think it has - but no one can argue that it markets itself as an echo chamber. You can still find robust debate and a plurality of thought and belief. Imperfect as it is, it still functions as a modern-day agora. ... When viewed in this context, Truth Social and its predecessors are seen for what they are: far-right safe spaces. ... A social media platform where everyone agrees with you sounds great in theory, but it quickly becomes boring in practice.”