Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced his new company, Trump Media & Technology Group, with the mission to rival "the liberal media consortium and fight back against 'Big Tech.'" File pool photo by Oliver Contreras/UPI |
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Oct. 21 (UPI) -- Former U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans Wednesday night to launch a new publicly treaded media company as well as a social media platform to compete against so-called liberal media and Silicon Valley.
The former Republican president and New York real estate mogul announced the company in a press release as Trump Media & Technology Group, which will be listed on the NASDAQ through a merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp. if the plan receives regulatory and stockholder approval.
The company's mission "is to create a rival to the liberal media consortium and fight back against the 'Big Tech,' which have used their unilateral power to silence opposing voices in America."
Trump has been a vociferous critic of the media and was banned from most major social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, over further risk of inciting violence following the Jan. 6 siege by his supporters on the Capitol building, which resulted in the deaths of five people and more than 140 law enforcement officers injured.
According to the press release, TMTG will soon launch TRUTH Social, with its first "guests" to be invited to the platform for a beta version next month and a nationwide rollout planned for the first quarter of next year.
"I created TRUTH Social and TMTG to stand up to the tyranny of Big Tech," Trump said. "We live in a world where the Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter, yet your favorite American president has been silenced. This is unacceptable. I am excited to send out my first Truth on Truth Social very soon."
Patrick Orlando, the chairman and chief executive of DWAC, said his company has $293 million in a trust, which was gained through its initial public offering in September.
"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," he said in a statement.
TMTG also plans to launch a subscription-based video-on-demand service that will feature "'non-woke' entertainment programming, news, podcasts and more." Scott St. John, the executive producer of Deal or No Deal and America's Got Talent, has been named the head of TMTG+ Corporate Operations.
