You’ve probably heard by now that former president Donald Trump is building his own social media platform — perhaps not so aptly named, Truth Social. What is the purpose of this platform? Well, it’s a direct response to losing his access to Twitter and Facebook. He was banned on these platforms for spreading misinformation after the Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2020.
But Truth Social is also a stern rebuke of business as usual, which is how Trump operates.
GETTR CEO Jason Miller said, “This is about taking power away from Silicon Valley oligarchs and decentralizing more, so it’s not just Twitter and Facebook who have all the control.”
According to Miller, Truth Social and GETTR are both about restructuring social media in general by rejecting Big Tech. GETTR’s popularity grew when popular podcaster and conservative commentator Joe Rogan offered the platform to his viewers, who were already out for blood after Trump was left in the cold on more popular platforms. Notably, Fox News’ Tucker Carlson and 2020 presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard are also on the platform.
Miller also said people were attracted to alternative platforms because of “political discrimination” (against political figures who spread lies and misinformation). It’s all free speech, right?
So should business owners join these platforms? At the end of the day, membership will probably be determined by political beliefs more than demographic targeting. But business owners should think long and hard about which is more important: truth and facts, or lies and deceit.
Miller described this “political discrimination” as likely to spread far and wide. “They’re not going to just stop with people who identify politically. Look at the way Nicki Minaj was put into digital jail, or the way that they’re trying to cancel Dave Chappelle. So, they’re not going to stop until they completely frame the world in their own viewpoint.”
“This is truly a global issue,” he added. “What we have a focus on here is protecting the free speech but also making sure it’s a safe environment for people to join.”