During his Presidency, Donald Trump received what may have been the most negative press of any sitting President. Some analytics sources found that news coverage of the former President was more than 90 percent negative throughout his term. Now a private citizen again, Trump is leading an effort to fight back against what he and many conservatives have called a “biased, woke media.”
In a press release issued on Oct. 20, Trump announced the creation of Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) via a merger with a corporation created solely to find investors for the project.
“Trump Media & Technology Group’s mission is to create a rival to the liberal media consortium and fight back against the Big Tech companies of Silicon Valley, which have used their unilateral power to silence opposing voices in America,” the press release reads.
The merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC) may provide TMTG with up to $875 million initially and an anticipated $825 million in additional funds from stock purchases. Since the announcement, DWAC stock has increased by nearly 180 percent, shooting from around $12.75 on Wednesday morning to almost $28 per share on Thursday.
Trump plans to roll out a new social media platform called TRUTH Social, with pre-orders currently available on the Apple App store for the beta release in November. A full release is expected in the first quarter of 2022, according to the press release. TMTG also plans to introduce a subscription-based streaming service called TMTG+ to challenge “Big Tech” services like Amazon.
“I created TRUTH Social and TMTG to stand up to the tyranny of Big Tech. We live in a world where the Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter, yet your favorite American President has been silenced,” Trump wrote in the press release. “This is unacceptable. I am excited to send out my first TRUTH on TRUTH Social very soon. TMTG was founded with a mission to give a voice to all. I’m excited to soon begin sharing my thoughts on TRUTH Social and to fight back against Big Tech. Everyone asks me why doesn’t someone stand up to Big Tech? Well, we will be soon!”
The merger has some hurdles to clear, including the risk that early investors will redeem shares, causing a loss of capital, in addition to federal regulators with the Federal Communications Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Digital World was formed to create public shareholder value and we believe that TMTG is one of the most promising business combination partners to fulfill that purpose,” said Chairman and CEO of DWAC Patrick Orlando in the press release.
“DWAC currently has $293 million in trust, assuming minimal redemptions, which can fuel TMTG’s scale-up, including to provide world class-leading technology services to build strong and secure social networks and diverse media offerings. Given the total addressable market and President Trump’s large following, we believe the TMTG opportunity has the potential to create significant shareholder value.”
The release states that Scott St. John, producer of popular shows like Deal or No Deal and America’s Got Talent is set to produce content for TMTG+. There is currently no date available when production for the streaming service will begin.
