Donald Trump’s social media platform Truth Social has lost $31.6m million* since its launch in early 2022, a securities filing revealed, noting that it is struggling to find additional funds.
The former US president had announced the launch of his social media app in October 2021, saying it would “stand up to big tech” companies such as Twitter and Facebook that previously barred him.
But a filing by Digital World Acquisition Corp, the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that plans to merge with Truth Social’s owner, Trump Media & Technology Group’s (TMTG), showed the social media company has been losing money heavily.
In 2022, Truth Social posted a profit of $50.5m*, with net sales of just $1.4m. It lost $23m in the first half of this year, with net sales of $2.3m.
Digital World Acquisition also revealed that the Securities and Exchange Commission, the US’s top financial watchdog, was looking at the deal in a move that “could cause us to be unable to consummate the business combination”.
If the merger collapses, the filing states, Truth Social will struggle to find new funds. TMTG’s independent registered public accounting firm has indicated that the financial condition raises substantial doubt as to its ability to continue as a going concern, according to the filing.
“TMTG believes that it may be difficult to raise additional funds through traditional financing sources in the absence of material progress toward completing its merger with Digital World.”
The company also eliminated several positions in March, the filing said, adding that the action followed a review of all departments, most significantly impacting TMTG’s streaming video on demand and infrastructure teams. - Guardian/Reuters
*This article was amended on Friday, November 24th, 2023 following a notification from The Guardian of errors in the syndicated article. An earlier version of the article misstated Truth Social’s loss since launch as $73m, when the figure recorded in the Securities and Exchange Commission filing is $31.6m. Truth Social posted a profit of $50.5m in 2022, rather than a $50m loss as the article previously stated.