A spokesperson for the Trump Media & Technology Group, which own Truth Social, has since pushed back on the allegations, saying that the monetization of social media features is a common industry practice, adding that Truth Social is “an uncancellable haven for free speech.”
Two media organizations have filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump after social media platform Truth Social announced that it would start charging up to $100,000 to offer “early access” to his posts.
According to National Public Radio, the lawsuit was filed earlier this week on behalf of The Intercept and the non-profit Freedom of the Press Foundation. Both groups say that the social media platform’s early-access program violate the First Amendment’s guarantee of equal public access to the president’s statements; they also claim that it violates the Fifth Amendment by granting access to Trump in exchange for “unreasonable sums.” The lawsuit asks a New York-based federal court to issue an order prohibiting the president from posting official government information exclusively on Truth Social.
NPR notes that the planned service, called Truth API, is expected to charge up to $100,000 per month for faster access to Trump’s Truth Social posts; the same service would also offer previews of other high-profile users’ content. Critics have already lambasted Trump for taking yet another opportunity to profit off the presidency.
Brandon Ballou, who is director of the Public Integrity Project and represents both plaintiffs, described Trump as, potentially, the first president in American history to engage in such brazen corruption.
“The president here is using the power of the office to vastly enrich himself, and I think it’s unprecedented in American history,” Ballou told NPR. “In some ways, Trump is the Picasso of corruption. He comes up with schemes that just wouldn’t occur to you or I, and the Truth Social one is an example of that.”
A spokesperson for the Trump Media & Technology Group, which own Truth Social, has since pushed back on the allegations, saying that the monetization of social media features is a common industry practice, adding that Truth Social is “an uncancellable haven for free speech.”
Kevin McGurn, TMTG’s executive officer, emphasized that the president’s posts alone do not move markets, and that having early access to Trump’s late-night rants won’t necessarily provide any kind of advantage for wealthy investors.
“Markets already move on Truth Social posts,” McGurn said. “Truth API delivers a direct, licensed, real-time feed of the platform’s most market-moving Truths while advancing our strategy to monetize proprietary assets through a high-margin, recurring revenue stream.”
The lawsuit, though, stresses that many of Trump’s most notable public remarks are issued through Truth Social rather than the White House or any official government agency.
Trump, for instance, “published between 9,000 and 11,000 posts or reports on Truth Social” since returning to office; oftentimes, the lawsuit says, his announcement have “no immediate corresponding announcement from the White House,” suggesting that “Trump’s posts are the only way to get official government news.”
“The President’s public statements are for the public, not a wealthy few,” Ballou said. “Our democracy depends on upholding the Constitution and enjoining Trump’s corrupt scheme.”
Sources
Trump Is Sued Over Selling Early Access to Truth Social Posts Amid Backlash Against Scheme
Trump sued over $100,000-a-month early-access offer to Truth Social posts
Trump sued over service selling faster access to Truth Social posts
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