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Mashable

Google hasn't approved Truth Social's Android app because of all the violent content (Tue, 30 Aug 2022)
Truth Social is still MIA in Google's mobile app store and it's not because an Android version of the platform doesn't exist. According to a new report from Axios, Donald Trump's conservative social network still has not been approved by Google for its Google Play store due to content moderation concerns from the tech giant. "When are we going to be available on Android? Well, look, that's up to the Google Play store," said Truth Social CEO Devin Nunes in an Aug. 26 appearance on the right-wing media outlet, Real America's Voice. "I mean we're waiting on them to approve us and…I don't know what's taking so long." However, a source tells Axios that Truth Social is very aware of the issue and it relates to incitement and threats of physical violence found on the right-wing social media platform. "On Aug. 19, we notified Truth Social of several violations of standard policies in their current app submission and reiterated that having effective systems for moderating user-generated content is a condition of our terms of service for any app to go live on Google Play,” said Google in a statement to Axios. SEE ALSO: Inside Truth Social: Hands on with Trump's social media platform Truth Social's iOS app hit Apple's App Store in February. While the app's popularity in the App Store has ebbed and flowed over the year, there has been a surge in downloads following the FBI's search and seizure at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence earlier this month. According to mobile analytics firm Data.ai, in the days following the FBI's search for classified documents taken by the former president, Truth Social saw an average of 13,400 downloads per day in the App Store. That's over five times more than the average downloads the week before. In total, Truth Social's iOS app received 107,500 downloads from Aug. 8 to Aug. 15. Without an Android app in the Google Play store, Truth Social is missing out on a chunk of U.S. smartphone users at a time when its main attraction, Donald Trump, is more active on the platform than ever before. Android phones make up more than 44 percent of the U.S.'s mobile operating system market share. Tweet may have been deleted (opens in a new tab) And, of course, its Android app problems aren't Truth Social's only woes. After a rocky start that saw trolls deface an early version of the site and the exit of crucial tech executives from the platform, Truth Social is now facing financial problems. The right-wing web hosting platform RightForge says that Trump's social media platform owes the company more than $1.6 million in unpaid fees. In addition to those issues, delays in a merger between Trump Media and Technology Group and Digital World Acquisition Corporation, the SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) that plans to take Trump's tech company public, have caused its stock price to tumble from its peak of $97 this year to $24.59, which is what the stock is currently trading at the time of publishing. As The Verge points out, Trump has increasingly spread QAnon-linked conspiracy theories on his platform since the FBI's search. This obviously won't help Truth Social and its content issues that Google has taken umbrage with.
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Trump-backed Truth Social allegedly owes $1.6m in unpaid hosting fees (Sat, 27 Aug 2022)
Former president Donald Trump's conservative social media safe haven, Truth Social, is being accused by a vendor of nonpayment of upwards of $1 million in hosting fees, according to a report from Fox Business on Thursday. The allegations come from RightForge, an internet infrastructure company, and one of Truth Social's biggest vendors and creditors. If true, Fox Business reports, it would suggest that the social media platform's finances "are in significant disarray." RightForge entered into an agreement to host Truth Social on its servers in October 2021 when the platform was created. The social media app was founded after Trump was banned from Twitter following the Jan. 6 riot and is meant to encourage "an open, free, and honest global conversation without discriminating on the basis of political ideology," according to its website. According to RightForge's website, the company provides "hosting for those who believe in Freedom of Expression and need Big Tech Independence." SEE ALSO: Inside Truth Social: Hands on with Trump's social media platform Despite the apparent match made in heaven, anonymous sources at RightForge told Fox Business that Truth Social has "reneged on its contractually obligated monthly payments," and owes the web-hosting service around $1.6 million. The anonymous sources also told Fox Business that Truth Social stopped making payments back in March and that RightForge is planning legal action to recoup the money. While Trump is listed as a founder of Truth Social, according to the holding company that owns the platform Trump Media and Technology Group, the former president's monetary and day-to-day investment is "negligible to nonexistent." Trump Media's current CEO is former Republican California Rep. Devin Nunes, and he has yet to comment on the allegations, according to Fox Business. RightForge CEO Martin Avila also declined Fox Business' request for comment but didn't deny the accusations either. On top of potential legal action, the report also states that Truth Social isn't making money either. Fox Business reported that in a May regulatory filing about Truth Social's potential merger with media company Digital World, it was claimed that Truth Social isn't bringing in any revenue, and may not until 2023. The news of Trump and associates not paying their bills probably isn't a surprise to those who are familiar with his business operations — especially Trump's overt bragging about not paying bills. Back in 2016, USAToday listed 3,500 legal cases in which business owners and workers claimed Trump had failed to pay their invoices. This included employees at his casinos, real estate brokers, even the lawyers he had to represent him in those suits, ironically enough.
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