Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Truth Social, announced Thursday it will offer paying customers "licensed, real-time access" to posts from top accounts, including President Donald Trump. The service, an API or Application Programming Interface, is designed to give Wall Street traders and other subscribers an edge on market-moving information.
President Trump's @realDonaldTrump account is the largest on Truth Social, with 12.9 million followers as of Thursday morning. Trump frequently uses the platform to make official announcements, including decisions on tariffs and the war with Iran, making his posts a critical source for financial firms and news organizations tracking the presidency.
Wall Street target and conflict-of-interest concerns
Trump Media's press release did not explicitly name the president, but interim CEO Kevin McGurn acknowledged the financial appeal: "Markets already move on Truth Social posts." Hedge funds and other firms already use low-latency feeds from social networks to build algorithms that react to sentiment and trends. However, Truth Social is unique as the primary outlet for official U.S. presidential communications.
Ethics attorney Virginia Canter of the Democracy Defenders Fund criticized the move as a "huge conflict of interest." She argued that Trump has an obligation to convey information to the American people publicly, but is now "funneling it through a private channel in which he has a private interest as one of its largest shareholders." Canter noted that Truth Social has "become the de facto presidential press room."
Company background and stock performance
Truth Social launched in 2021 after Trump was banned from X and Facebook following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Trump Media went public via a blank-check merger and trades on Nasdaq under ticker DJT since March 26, 2024. Shares have fallen 84% since then, according to FactSet. Trump transferred his roughly 114 million shares—42% of the company—to a revocable trust in his son Donald Trump Jr.'s name after winning the presidency.