‘Brazen corruption’: critics denounce Trump Media plan to sell priority access to Truth Social posts

Trump Media Plans Paid High-Speed Access to Truth Social Posts

Donald Trump’s media company announced plans on Thursday to offer a paid service providing faster access to posts on Truth Social, including content from high-follower accounts. The feature, called Truth PSI, targets institutional users such as Wall Street trading firms seeking earlier visibility into posts that may influence markets.

The service would deliver content from the platform’s highest-ranking accounts ahead of general users. Trump maintains the largest following on Truth Social at 12.9 million, followed by his sons Donald Jr. and Eric. The company’s press release did not specify pricing or confirm whether the president’s posts would be included.

Trump has used the platform to post on topics including tariffs and developments related to Iran, which some market participants have linked to movements in stocks, bonds, oil prices, and interest-rate expectations. In one 24-hour period last year, he published more than 100 posts on a day when global equities declined amid concerns over economic policy.

Truth Social operates under the publicly traded Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), ticker DJT. Trump holds an indirect stake of approximately 53 percent through a trust established in December 2024. The company’s market capitalization stood at $2.67 billion as of the most recent trading session, with shares closing at $9.63 on Thursday after a 0.6 percent gain. The stock had traded near $40 before Trump’s return to office.

TMTG has reported ongoing efforts to expand revenue through additional business lines, including cryptocurrency and financial services. In the release announcing Truth PSI, incoming chief executive Kevin McGurn described the initiative as part of a “strategy to monetise proprietary assets” expected to generate recurring revenue. The company stated it has already signed initial customers and intends to launch the service next month.

Similar paid priority-access arrangements exist on other platforms. X, formerly Twitter, and certain financial-data providers have offered expedited feeds or premium tiers to institutional subscribers for years, allowing faster receipt of public posts for trading and analysis purposes.

Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University specializing in government ethics, stated that conflict-of-interest statutes generally prohibit officials from profiting from the sale of access to their official actions. She noted, however, that the president and vice president are exempt from the relevant provision. Clark described the proposed service as an improper use of public position for private gain. TMTG did not respond to questions from the Associated Press about whether Trump’s posts would be part of the offering or how the feature interacts with the president’s official role.

Federal disclosure filings show Trump reported more than $1 billion in revenue last year from business interests, including roughly $1.4 billion tied to cryptocurrency ventures such as World Liberty Financial. An additional $500 million stemmed from a transaction involving a firm linked to the United Arab Emirates. TMTG itself has recorded share-price declines exceeding 70 percent since the start of the current term, reducing its equity value by approximately $6 billion.

Trump launched TMTG in 2021 after major platforms restricted his accounts. Truth Social began operations in February 2022 and completed a public listing two years later at an initial valuation of $8 billion. The company recently appointed McGurn to replace longtime chief executive Devin Nunes.

The announcement occurs alongside other commercial activities by Trump-linked entities. Company representatives have not addressed whether the new service constitutes monetization of the presidency. Associated Press contributed to this report.