Topline
Trump, the former President, released Tuesday morning a long statement slamming corruption in Big Tech companies. He claimed that his forthcoming social media website would be a multi-year, well-funded undertaking. Investors were skeptical. Shares of the company funding Trump's social media platform fell more than 20%, marking the second consecutive day of large losses.
The then-President Donald Trump responds to a question during the White House briefing room on September 27, 2020. Joshua Roberts/Getty Images
The Key Facts
After falling 11% Monday, shares of Digital World Acquisition Corp. After a new company, Trump Media and Technology Group announced that it would merge with DWAC in order to create TRUTH Social, a new social media platform, the stock soared by 357% and 107% respectively on Thursday and Friday. Trump pledged Tuesday that Truth Social would not treat users like laboratory rats for social experiments. This comes after it was reported that Facebook, the world's largest social media platform, allowed celebrities and politicians to circumvent its rules. It also misled investors about its declining popularity among younger people and censored posts from Vietnam. Trump stated that Trump Media and Technology Group will expand cancel-proof ventures in order to cover key areas such as Web services and payment processing.
Important Quote
Trump stated that only a few powerful people can control nearly every major media, technology, and entertainment company in America.
What to Watch
On Tuesday, executives from TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube will testify before the Senate Commerce subcommittee for consumer protection to discuss how they are working to protect young users.
Important Background
Trump announced the creation of the platform late Wednesday night. He called it a challenge to the liberal media consortium. Trump also intends to use the platform to regain his massive social media presence. Trump was removed from all major social media platforms by his supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol January 6. According to a new set of documents, the Securities and Exchange Commission claims that Facebook did not do enough to stop misinformation spreading before the attack. According to multiple reports, the company removed safeguards that would have prevented the spread misinformation about election results leading up to the Capitol Storming. However, numerous other reports claim that the company did not do enough to prevent extremist content being spread through its platform. This was apparently because executives didn't want to stop growth. These documents are collectively known as the Facebook Papers.
Tangent
According to Axios, Truth Social will partner with RightForge, a conservative-leaning Internet infrastructure company, to host the platform. According to the CEO of the company, the news organization was informed that the site is geared up for more than 75,000,000 users and that it will continue hosting the platform even if there are controversial comments.
Continue reading
These Are the Biggest Facebook Papers Charges. Zuckerberg Condemns The Communist Government, and Lets Celebrities Break The Rules. More (Forbes).
Shares of SPAC behind Trump Social Media Company Rise 400% (Forbes).
Trump-Linked SPAC Soars Again, But Gives Back Some Of Morning Gains (Forbes)
Exclusive: Trump will be back online, company says (Axios).
Senator: YouTube, TikTok and Snap offer only small changes (The Associated Press).
