Trump's social network named "TRUTHSocial" will have a beta launch for invited guests in November 2021, with a nationwide rollout in the First Quarter of 2022. Signup for invites are open at the website, and the app is available for pre-order in the Apple App Store.
TRUTHSocial's website says it will be "America's 'Big Tent' social media platform that encourages an open, free, and honest global conversation without discriminating against political ideology."
An internet infrastructure company called RightForge has announced it would be hosting Trump's TRUTHSocial platform. RightForge CEO Martin Avila told Axios, "If you believe that the president should be de-platformed, we believe that you're not really interested in living in a free country."
Source: https://rightforge.com/
Trump said he created TRUTHSocial and Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) to "stand up to the tyranny of Big Tech," and opined:
"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 TRUTHSocial very soon. TMTG was founded with a mission to give a voice to all. I'm excited to soon begin sharing my thoughts on TRUTHSocial and to fight back against Big Tech. Everyone asks me why doesn't someone stand up to Big Tech? Well, we will be soon!"
Trump penned an Op-Ed published in the Tampa Free Press called 'This is About Saving Our Country' and described his purpose of creating the new social media platform. The Op-Ed stated, in part:
"Last week, I announced the creation of a major new company that will challenge the dominance of the Big Tech giants and Big Media bosses. For me, this endeavor is about much more than politics. This is about saving our country.
The new age of censorship is a disaster for our country. Things were far better in the days when we had our debates fiercely and openly, and then we could move forward together, as Americans, with both sides knowing that their voice, and their best arguments, had been heard.
The more I looked into this problem, the more I realized that to restore free speech, a major new platform would have to enter the market with an ironclad commitment to protecting vigorous debate from all sides. But since it is both hard and expensive to build a new platform totally independent of Big Tech's infrastructure, it would have to be an extremely well-funded, multi-year undertaking. In addition, such a platform would need the ability to rapidly attract millions of users, welcoming not only Republicans to join but Independents and Democrats as well.
To take on Big Tech censorship, we are creating a "Big Tent" platform: TRUTHSocial.
We are inviting people of all political stripes and all different viewpoints to come and participate once again in the great American debate. That's what our country is supposed to be about. Unlike with the Big Tech platforms, there will be no shadow-banning, throttling, demonetizing, or messing with algorithms for political manipulation. We will not be treating users like lab rats for social experiments or labeling alternative views as "disinformation." We will not silence our fellow citizens simply because they might be wrong—or worse, because we think that Americans' can't handle the truth.'
It will be as free, vibrant, lively, and diverse as America itself. And TRUTHSocial is only the beginning of our plans. The Trump Media and Technology Group will also be launching an on-demand video streaming service that competes with the increasingly "woke" and politicized 'entertainment' programming created by Big Tech and Big Media players. TMTG also sees opportunities to create "cancel-proof" alternatives in other key areas ranging from web services to payment processing."
Source: https://www.tmtgcorp.com/
In addition to the upcoming launch of the TRUTHSocial network, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) has also announced plans for a subscription video-on-demand service called TMTG+. It will feature "non-woke" programming to include entertainment, news, and podcasts. Executive Producer Scott St. John of 'Deal or No Deal' and 'America's Got Talent' has been named leader of Corporate Operations.
Source: https://www.tmtgcorp.com/
TMTG announced the merger agreement Wednesday, Oct. 20, with Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC), a business combination that is intended to form a publicly listed company under the new TMTG brand.
TMTG's website offers that its mission is to "create a rival to the liberal media consortium and fight back against the 'Big Tech' companies of Silicon Valley, [that] have used their unilateral power to silence opposing voices in America."
https://www.scribd.com/document/534175814/TMTG-Company-Overview[/embed]
A NASDAQ stock registration Form 8-K filing for DWAC is publicly available and contains the full details of the merger, with DWAC as a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC). As holding company for TMTG, DWAC is purchaser until the completion of the merger, at which point it subsumes TMTG, the surviving corporation:
"[DWAC] will merge with and into TMTG with TMTG continuing as the surviving corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of DWAC. At the Closing, DWAC will change its name to 'Trump Media & Technology Group Corp.'"
ARC Global Investments II is the purchaser representative under whom Patrick Orlando, CEO of Benessere Capital, is the signatory for the merger plan—and now Chairman and CEO of DWAC. DWAC is listed in Miami, FL and incorporated in Maryland, while TMTG is in Palm Beach, FL. Donald Trump is Chairman and Authorized Representative of TMTG, while Lori Heyer-Bednar is its Chief Legal Officer. According to the merger filing, Trump would remain 'Company Principal' even in the event of a "Material Disruptive Event," such as an announcement to run for public office or being "personally convicted of a felony criminal offense."
https://www.scribd.com/document/536426631/DWAC-TMTG-SPAC-Merger-Trump-TruthSocial-8-K-SEC-Filing[/embed]
Trump and shareholders have earnouts for an additional 40 million shares stipulated in the filing, all of which would trigger if the price averages above $30 any 20 of 30 trading days in the next three years. That would seem almost certainly to happen during these first 30 days—though prices have been volatile, they have been well above $30 since Oct. 21, when the trading volume for DWAC reached #2 behind Tesla with nearly 500 million shares traded.
Trading halted several times, a practice accused of being used to protect institutional investors throughout the GameStop phenomena. Though the stock is not heavily shorted like the ones targeted by 'pleb' investors at the WallStreetBets subReddit, there is some overlap, and a DWAC_Stock subReddit has been created that has a similar tone.
Initial growth plans for TMTG are to be funded by DWAC's September 2021 public offering that raised $293 Million, but if prices remain, it would seem there will be no shortage. As of this writing, DWAC has a market capitalization of about $2.5 Billion at a price of $67.75. At a price of $1,800, it would be about the size of Twitter, and if it were to hit $85,000, it would be the world's largest company.
