Donald Trump’s Truth Social app has seen a 93% drop in sign-ups and light traffic since its technically challenged February rollout, according to The Wrap.
“After going live on President’s Day, the Twitter-lookalike app saw installs decline by more than 800,000 since its launch week, according to Sensor Tower. Installs on the Apple app store this month have fallen to about 60,000 per week, based on early estimates,” reported The Wrap’s Antoinette Siu on Tuesday.
Former congressman Devin Nunes of Tulare resigned from the House of Representatives to become chief executive officer of Trump Media and Technology Group, which is the app’s creator.
“Our team is working literally around the clock 24/7,” Nunes told right-wing One America News Network in early March. “And as we grow and as we add people, we squash bugs, we’re making changes right.”
Truth Social reportedly has fallen to 1.9 million weekly visits from a high of 6 million the week it debuted, according to Similarweb stats.
When Twitter went public in 2013, it had about 200 million users. That total has grown to nearly 400 million users — about half of which use it on any given day.
Related Story: These 6 Want to Replace Devin Nunes in Congress. Where Do They Stand?
Free Speech Advocates Pan Truth Social
Trump came up with Truth Social after Twitter banned him for allegedly inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Free speech advocates from the left and the right have criticized Truth Social for not living up to its widely advertised pledge of not censoring speech.
In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Patrick Hedger, executive director of the conservative Taxpayers Protection Alliance, said the platform “isn’t a censorship-free experience at all.”
“It’s rank hypocrisy to ban the DevinNunesCow account,” Hedger said. “I think they should abide by how they advertise themselves as a censorship-free platform or recognize that striking a balance between free speech and palatable consumer content is not easy, as other platforms have realized.”
Related Story: What Will Devin Nunes Do With $11 Million in Campaign Account?
Trump’s App Bans ‘@DevinNunesCow’
Hedger was referring to web developer Matt Ortega, who tried to create an account called “@DevinNunesCow.” Ortega tweeted that his account was banned by Truth Social due to “social community guidelines violations,” Business Insider reported on Feb. 23.
Ortega’s rejected account was a tribute to the satirical Twitter account “@DevinCow,” which criticizes and makes fun of Nunes.
Nunes filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against the owner of the anonymous @DevinCow account in 2019, but a Virginia judge later dismissed the case.
