Trump’s social network has a new partner, and it’s exactly what you’d expect.
TRUTH Social is linking up with an online video provider that is known for hosting content that won’t make it past YouTube’s moderation policy. It’s called Rumble, and it’s become a favorite of a range of fringe characters, including QAnon supporters, far-right extremists, and anti-vaxxers.
It also already hosts videos from a number of Trump world figures, including Donald Trump Jr.
Like other right-wing tech firms, Rumble brands itself as a bastion against “cancel culture.”
In practice, it hosts a wide-ranging array of content. The company pays former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) to “challenge the status quo,” for example.
The companies said this week that Trump Media & Technology Group — which controls TRUTH Social — will receive cloud computing services from Rumble, and that Rumble will provide video and streaming for TRUTH, along with an unspecified, planned “Subscription Video On-Demand Product” called TMTG+.
Trump may not be president anymore, but there are still endless opportunities for content.
The financing deal that spawned TRUTH Social has come under SEC scrutiny in recent months, as regulators investigate whether Trump spoke about his company receiving funding from a blank check acquisition company before that firm went public — a potential violation of financial regulations.
TRUTH Social encountered trouble upon its initial October 2021 announcement to the public. The company used code that was developed by an open-source social network called Mastodon, without complying with the terms of that company’s license.
TRUTH Social appears to have fixed the license issue after receiving a letter from Mastodon’s attorneys.
A beta version of the network was initially planned to be up and available by November.
It’s not clear whether the company made that deadline, but Trump said in a statement announcing the Rumble deal that the site was now working on the “Rumble Cloud for invited guests only.”
Who precisely made it past the velvet rope and into TRUTH remains unclear. Trump characteristically described the beta launch as “excellent.”
