Former President Donald Trump recently made a major announcement in his campaign against Big Tech.
We've known for some time that Trump has sought to launch his own social media platform. At the end of October, Trump unveiled his vision for a “non-woke” social network, Truth Social, and a streaming service called TMTG+.
Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) and Digital World Acquisition Corp. entered into a definitive merger agreement on Oct. 20. The strategic alliance turned TMTG into a publicly traded company. Trump and his allies hope that will provide Truth Social and TMTG+ with enough cash to get off the ground.
The Most Ambitious Venture to Challenge Big Tech Yet
A joint press release by TMTG and Digital World Acquisition Corp. reiterates Trump's resolve to fight the “liberal media consortium:”
President Donald J. Trump, the Chairman of TMTG, stated, “I created TRUTH Social and TMTG to stand up to the tyranny of Big Tech. We live in a world where the Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter, yet your favorite American President has been silenced. This is unacceptable. I am excited to send out my first TRUTH on TRUTH Social very soon. TMTG was founded with a mission to give a voice to all. I'm excited to soon begin sharing my thoughts on TRUTH Social and to fight back against Big Tech. Everyone asks me why doesn't someone stand up to Big Tech? Well, we will be soon!”
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Additionally, TMTG intends to launch a subscription video on demand service (TMTG+). TMTG+ will feature ‘non-woke' entertainment programming, news, podcasts, and more. TMTG has named Scott St. John as the leader of TMTG+ Corporate Operations. Scott St. John is the Executive Producer of “Deal or No Deal' and “America's Got Talent” and has produced over 1,000 hours of Network and Cable TV.
The social media platform and video streaming service expect to attract prominent conservative voices following Trump's prolonged social media ban.
In June, Facebook (now rebranded as Meta) announced that it might reinstate Trump's accounts on Facebook and Instagram in January 2023 but not before then.
The ongoing suspension prevents Trump from using either site to amplify his message before next year's midterm elections.
After the next Congress is sworn in, Meta says it will reevaluate whether “instances of violence, restrictions of peaceful assembly and other markers of civil unrest” have receded enough to let Trump use Facebook and Instagram.
For the former president, Meta's ruling was nothing short of an abomination.
The Next Phase of Trump's Campaign Begins
However, the Oct. 20 merger represents a new phase in Trump's plan to circumvent Silicon Valley.
Revelations about Trump's new digital media venture comes on the heels of Harvard Law School emeritus professor Alan Dershowitz's appearance in federal court, where he urged a judge to force Facebook and Twitter to unfreeze the president's accounts.
Trump's lawyers filed a separate suit against YouTube. All seek the restoration of his social media empire.
Since the events of Jan. 6, Trump has argued that his suspensions violate his right to free speech through “illegal, unconstitutional censorship.”
Will Truth Social and TMTG+ Change the Status Quo?
For Trump and many others, Truth Social is a means to outwit social media's self-appointed arbiters. Beyond that, it gives Trump the opportunity to recapture the power of the bully pulpit.
TMTG plans to have a full public launch for Truth Social early in 2022.
Trump's proposed on-demand streaming service, TMTG+, one day hopes to rival Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+. All three have more than 100 million subscribers.
Further details regarding pricing, release date and original programming are not yet available.
Regardless, the enthusiasm among millions of conservatives is palpable.
In another press release, TMTG proclaimed that the 45th president's latest venture “has the opportunity to galvanize/unify the fragmented ‘non-Big Tech' universe.”
Do you agree?
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
