Twitter users have been spreading the claim that Truth Social, former President Donald Trump’s yet-to-be-launched social media platform, intends to charge users $4.99 per week. But the allegation isn’t actually true.
Truth Social received renewed attention this week after a screenshot showing Trump’s first post on the website’s beta version began circulating online.
The screenshot led to widespread praise among Trump’s supporters for the site’s upcoming launch as well as condemnation from those opposed to the former president.
The biggest criticism of the app appeared to be related to the viral claim that Truth Social would charge its users $4.99 per week just to use the app.
“Former President Donald Trump’s new app Truth Social costs $4.99 a week,” @JDCocchiarella wrote. “I guess ‘Free Speech’ isn’t actually free.”
The evidence for the claim was a screenshot that allegedly showed the pricing on Truth Social’s website. Users interested in downloading the app, it made it seem, would get a three-day free trial before getting charged $4.99 per week.
Many on Twitter criticized Trump for purportedly charging users for a so-called free speech app.
But Truth Social has not stated that it intends to charge users. And the screenshot being spread online isn’t from Truth Social.
In fact, the claim regarding the $4.99 charge isn’t even new. After Trump announced his plans to launch a social media platform in October of last year, a slew of apps and websites purporting to be linked to the former president began appearing online.
The screenshot mentioning a weekly subscription price is not for Truth Social but for a mobile app known as 2nd1st. The New York Post even reported last October that Trump had sent the company a cease-and-desist letter for making it appear as if he was using the app.
Full images of the app from last year clearly show that the mention of a subscription fee comes from 2nd1st and not Truth Social.
While criticisms over cost are incorrect, Truth Social has already faced multiple hurdles.
The social media’s sites terms of service were widely ridiculed after they were found to contain numerous bizarre stipulations such as a ban on “excessive capital letters.” A hacker was also able to locate the unpublicized test site for Truth Social, allowing multiple users to obtain usernames for everyone from Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence. The official launch date has also been repeatedly pushed back.