On Thursday, the team of former President Donald Trump discreetly unveiled a new social media platform, presenting it as an alternative to Big Tech companies. However, there was instant debate as to whether the launch was the former president’s long-promised endeavour to provide his legions of supporters with their own social media sanctuary or simply the latest attempt to establish a MAGA-alternative to the big platforms.
The website GETTR defined its purpose as “defeating cancel culture, promoting common sense, protecting free speech, exposing social media monopolies, and building a real marketplace of ideas.” The app is presently under beta testing and will go live on July 4 at 10 a.m. Jason Miller, Trump’s former spokesperson, verified the platform’s leadership through text message. Tim Murtaugh, a former Trump campaign spokeswoman, is a consultant on the app. Trump’s participation with the initiative is unknown, as is whether he will create and utilise an account on GETTR.
After being kicked from Twitter and suspended from Facebook, the former president has been seeking for new methods to communicate with his supporters online. And his last attempt to interact online—the establishment of a professional blog—failed swiftly due to considerable criticism and low viewership. This new endeavour may potentially raise privacy concerns, such as if it collects information about its users’ Twitter followers.
