October 13, 2022, 9:43 AM
October 13, 2022, 9:43 AM
The social network of former US President Donald Trump, Truth Social, can now be downloaded from the Google Play store, after the internet giant ruled it out in August, considering content moderation on the platform insufficient.
Google told AFP on Wednesday that Truth Social finally agreed to update its app in order to guarantee that the policy of eliminating messages that incite violence is complied with.
To be distributed in the Google store, applications “must adhere to our publisher guidelines, including requirements to effectively moderate third-party content and remove objectionable material, such as that which incites violence,” a spokesman said.
Launched at the end of February 2022 with freedom of expression as a standard and a minimum content moderation, Truth Social aims to be an alternative to the big social networks, particularly Twitter.where Trump has been suspended since early January 2021,
“It’s been a pleasure working with Google, and we’re thrilled that they’ve helped us finally bring Truth Social to all Americans, no matter what device they’re using,” said Shannon Devine of MZ Group, who manages public relations for Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG), parent company of Truth Social.
“This is an important step in our mission to restore freedom of expression on the Internet,” he added in an email sent to AFP.
In the Apple App Store, where it was available, Truth Social ranks 89th for downloads in the “social networks” category.
Banned from major platforms, Donald Trump has garnered only a fraction of his supporters on Truth Social, with 4.18 million followers, compared to the 88.8 million he had on Twitter and the 35.4 million on Facebook, before being banned for inciting his followers during the invasion of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Truth Social is particularly used by fans of the QAnon conspiracy movement to transmit theories that link, for example, personalities of the American Democratic Party such as Hillary Clinton with a network of satanism and pedophilia.
The NewsGuard tool, which rates news sources based on their trustworthiness, found 88 accounts sharing QAnon content with more than 10,000 followers on Truth Social, of which more than half were “verified” and more than a third had been banned on Twitter.
