Former President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he’s launching a new social network called Truth Social, whose goal is to push back against Big Tech, according to a press release purported to come from one of his companies.

The Trump Media and Technology Group, which made the announcement, said the social network will begin a limited beta launch in November, with a wider rollout expected in the first quarter of 2022. 

“I created Truth Social and TMGT to stand up to the tyranny of Big Tech,” Trump said in the press release sent to the media. “We live in a world where the Taliban has a presence on Twitter, yet your favorite American president has been silenced.”

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There’s a site for Truth Social where people can join a waiting list for the social network, as well as a link to preorder the iOS app. Screenshots of the app suggest Truth will have profile pages with a Twitter-like timeline of posts. 

Plans to launch a new social network underscore how Trump is trying to rejoin the online public conversation after Twitter, Facebook and Google-owned YouTube booted him from their platforms following the deadly US Capitol Hill riot in January. 

Trump’s use of Twitter redefined politics, letting him sidestep mainstream media to try to take hold of the political narrative. But Twitter permanently banned Trump on Jan. 8, two days after a mob of his supporters stormed the US Capitol building in a riot that left several people dead, including a Capitol Police officer. Twitter said the ban was “due to the risk of further incitement of violence.”

Lolo Ijeoma Njoku Obinwannem News writer / Oct 22, 2021