The logo of the Truth social network is shown in this image, taken Feb. 21, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
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Aug 30 (Reuters) – Former US President Donald Trump’s social media platform Truth Social has not yet been approved for distribution on Alphabet Inc’s Google Play Store (GOOGL.O) due to insufficient content moderation, Axios reported Tuesday, citing a Google -spokesman.
The delay marks a setback for the app, which launched on the Apple App Store on February 21. Android phones represent about 40% of the US smartphone market. Without the Google and Apple stores, there is no easy way for most smartphone users to download Truth Social.
Google and Truth Social parent company Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
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Truth Social reinstated Trump’s social media presence more than a year after he was banned from Twitter Inc (TWTR.N), Facebook and Alphabet Inc’s YouTube following the January 6, 2021 US Capitol riots after he was accused of messaging places that incite violence.
TMTG has pledged to deliver an “engaging and censorship-free experience” on Truth Social, appealing to a base that feels its views on such hot-button topics in American life as vaccines and the outcome of the 2020 presidential election are out of the mainstream. have been scrapped technical platforms.
TMTG has partnered with Hive, a San Francisco-based AI-based content moderation company, to flag sexually explicit content, hate speech, harassment, and violent content on the app.
Human moderators decide what to do with the content Hive has flagged. While the scope of TMTG’s human moderation efforts is unclear, according to a posting on the TMTG website, the company is hiring a “community content administrator” whose job it will be to “review user-posted content on Truth Social to verify that it complies with established Community Guidelines”. .”
TMTG plans to go public through a merger with blank check company Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC.O). The United States Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating the merger, according to DWAC filings.
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Reporting by Helen Coster in New York and Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri
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