“Mr. Trump is trying to enrich his own pockets by privatizing government information that he has no right to sell,” said Ben Meussig, editor-in-chief of The Intercept. “We won’t leave it alone.”
According to the complaint, Trump frequently publishes official government announcements exclusively on Truth Social. These posts reportedly include information about military strikes and ceasefires, the hiring and firing of senior government officials, and major domestic policy decisions.
“Trump’s twisted plan is especially outrageous,” said Stern, referring to the President Trump’s Anti-Press Social Media Tracker. “He frequently uses his Truth Social account to denounce journalists and announce plans to sue or criminally investigate them. Unless he subsidizes the platforms he uses to attack the press, he is placing important information behind a paywall for customers who can afford access.”
Critics argue that the plan raises concerns not only about competition and the digital media market, but also about the First Amendment and public access to government information.
Truth Social seeks new customers for its API
In addition to Trump, the defendants named in the complaint include chief of staff Natalie Harp and chief of staff Daniel Scavino. According to the filing, Harp and Scavino have accessed Trump’s Truth Social accounts and published posts on his behalf. The other named defendants are the Executive Office of the President and the White House Secretariat.
Trump Media & Technology Group, the owner of Truth Social, reported second-quarter revenue of $1.7 million and a net loss of $238.1 million. The company said the loss included $190.4 million in “non-cash losses,” including unrealized losses on digital assets, pledged digital assets, and equity.
Trump Media expects its Truth API to generate additional revenue. Interim CEO Kevin McGahn said during the company’s earnings call that Truth Media has contracts with more than 10 customers. Most are reportedly high-frequency trading firms paying between $60,000 and $100,000 per month.
McGahn said Truth Social is also in discussions with cloud computing companies, major news organizations, and large language model developers. The company eventually plans to make the Truth API available to individual investors.
Source: arstechnica.com