The social network Truth Social, co-founded by ex-US President Donald Trump, will also be available in Google’s App Store in the future. The decision was made after Truth Social agreed to accept the applicable content control guidelines, US media reported on Wednesday (local time), citing a spokeswoman for the internet giant.
The move means Trump’s Twitter alternative can be downloaded in the US via Google’s Play Store for Android smartphones. Previously, the app was only available for Apple’s iPhone. However, the application cannot be used outside the USA.
With Truth Social, Trump is trying to establish his own online platform for his supporters – also with a view to the important congressional elections in early November. For years, his most important communication channels had been Facebook and especially Twitter. He had more than 80 million followers on the short message service. However, he was locked out after his supporters stormed the Capitol in Washington in January 2021 and he expressed sympathy for the attackers. In addition, Trump continues to claim, without any evidence, that his victory in the 2020 presidential election was stolen through fraud.
In August, Google had still refused to include Truth Social in the App Store. In the meantime, however, the online platform has adjusted its guidelines, also with regard to user-generated content, it said. For example, users who posted offensive or violent messages could be blocked or removed.
“Today is an important milestone in our mission to restore free speech online,” Devin Nunes, head of Trump’s media group TMTG, quoted the Wall Street Journal as saying. In the US, almost half of smartphone owners use Google’s Android operating system.