Trump social network could be launching next month

Truth Social's expected launch date is listed as Feb. 21 in Apple's app store.

Corinne Reichert Senior Editor

Corinne Reichert (she/her) grew up in Sydney, Australia and moved to California in 2019. She holds degrees in law and communications, and currently writes news, analysis and features for CNET across the topics of electric vehicles, broadband networks, mobile devices, big tech, artificial intelligence, home technology and entertainment. In her spare time, she watches soccer games and F1 races, and goes to Disneyland as often as possible.

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Corinne Reichert

Queenie Wong

Jan. 6, 2022 1:57 p.m. PT

2 min read

Truth Social launch date — Trump's new social media network, Truth Social, could be launching on Presidents' Day.
Screenshot by CNET

Former President Donald Trump's new social media platform could be launching Feb. 21, according to an expected date listed in Apple's app store. This release date of Truth Social, spotted earlier Thursday by Reuters, would coincide with the Presidents' Day long weekend.

Social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube booted Trump from their platforms in 2021 because of concerns his remarks would incite more violence following the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, which happened a year ago today.

Twitter permanently banned Trump but Facebook suspended the former president until at least January 2023 and said it would assess the risk of violence near the end of his suspension period. Google-owned YouTube said it would lift the ban on Trump's channel when the risk of violence decreased. Prior to being banned, Trump also had posts flagged by Facebook and Twitter for spreading misinformation about the election and misinformation about COVID-19.

The former president's efforts to launch his own social network underscore how Trump is trying to reignite his online presence despite being booted from Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Trump also launched a blog last year, called From the Desk of Donald J. Trump, but he shut it down after becoming displeased when it became the subject of mockery and attracted few readers, according to The Washington Post, which cited an anonymous adviser.

Trump announced Truth Social in October. People can preorder the app, and a wider rollout is expected in the first half of 2022.

Trump Media & Technology Group didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

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