Washington DC: Former President Trump’s platform Truth Social has made little impact on the social media market roughly two weeks after launching on the Apple app store, with hundreds of thousands of potential users stuck on a lengthy waitlist.
The nascent social media platform initially roared onto the scene, capturing the top spot for free downloads on the Apple app store market. But after less than 20 days, Truth Social finds itself far down the list at 116, right between the app for DoorDash drivers and a game in which a genie guesses internet celebrities.
The explanation for the precipitous drop is fairly straightforward: The app has been inaccessible for most users, while the ones who have been admitted have had little to be excited about.
Trump Media & Technology Group CEO Devin Nunes did previously caution that the app would not be “fully functional” until the end of March.
But the platform’s rocky start cannot be wholly dismissed and is likely indicative of problems to come.
“The reality is that even under the best of circumstances, with good faith and expertise, and a non-divisive premise, social media platforms are hard to launch. Most of them are not successful,” said American University communications chair Aram Sinnreich.
The vast majority of people who signed up after the initial beta launch have not been able to access the platform. Users have instead been added to a lengthy waitlist, which has not budged; reporters for The Hill who created accounts 10 days ago, for instance, still have 790,000 potential users ahead of them on the list.
A spokesperson for Trump Media & Technology Group did not respond to a request for comment on the timing for opening up access to more users.
