(Reuters) – Truth Social, the much-anticipated social media platform launched by former U.S. President Donald Trump, has reportedly suffered a staggering loss of $73 million since its introduction in early 2022, according to a recent securities filing by Digital World Acquisition Corp, the SPAC set to merge with the company.
Back in October 2021, Trump made waves with the announcement of his very own social media app, vowing that it would serve as a direct challenge to industry giants like Twitter and Facebook, both of which had previously banned him from their platforms.
In the year 2022, Truth Social experienced a hefty loss of $50 million, despite only managing to generate a mere $1.4 million in net sales. The trend continued into the first half of this year, with the platform recording a $23 million loss and net sales of just $2.3 million.
Concerns over the financial viability of Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the parent company of Truth Social, were underscored by its independent registered public accounting firm, which suggested that there is significant doubt regarding its ability to sustain operations as a “going concern,” as per 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 filing stated.
Furthermore, the company revealed that it had eliminated several positions in March, notably impacting TMTG’s streaming video on demand and infrastructure teams, following a comprehensive review of its various departments.
(Reporting by Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
