Trump Media plans paid fast access to Truth Social posts

Trump Media & Technology Group plans to sell Wall Street firms and other institutions high-speed access to influential Truth Social posts, a service that could include posts from President Donald Trump and deliver potentially market-moving information in milliseconds.

The company, which owns Truth Social, said the paid feed will start next month and provide instant updates from “the highest-ranking” accounts on the platform. Trump has the most followers on Truth Social, with 12.9 million, followed by his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, The Guardian reported.

Trump Media did not say how much it will charge. The BBC reported the service is named Truth API, while The Guardian reported it is called Truth PSI. Trump Media said it will run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and is aimed at institutional clients that want rapid access to posts that can affect markets.

“Markets already move on Truth Social posts,” said Kevin McGurn, Trump Media’s interim chief executive, adding that the service is expected to create a steady source of profit. In a company release cited by The Guardian, McGurn described the offering as part of a “strategy to monetize proprietary assets” and said he expected it to become a “meaningful, ongoing source of revenue.”

Trump’s posts have often drawn close attention from traders, especially when he comments on trade, tariffs, war, immigration enforcement and other government decisions. The BBC reported that banks and traders previously had to monitor the app manually, while the new system would send posts directly to paying clients. In financial markets, a delay of even seconds can be costly.

The company said some firms have been copying Truth Social data for months without permission. McGurn warned that Trump Media will soon block those methods, which would push firms seeking the fastest access toward the official paid feed.

The plan raises questions because Trump’s family remains the majority shareholder in Trump Media, meaning the president could benefit financially from selling faster access to statements he makes publicly on the platform. The BBC said it contacted Trump Media to ask whether the president’s posts would be included in the paid feed. The White House declined to comment. The Guardian said Trump Media did not respond to emailed questions, including whether Trump’s posts would be excluded, and that the Trump family company declined to comment on whether the service was profiting off the presidency.

Kathleen Clark, a Washington University School of Law professor and expert in government conflict-of-interest rules, told The Guardian: “He’s selling expedited, privileged access to information about what he is doing as president.” She said conflict-of-interest laws would bar other U.S. government officials from owning a company that profited off their office in this way, but noted that the president and vice president are excluded from that provision.

Robert Frenchman, a partner at the U.S. law firm Dynamis, told Reuters: “It certainly does not seem fair, but yes, a tech platform can tier its distribution of information without violating federal securities laws.”

Mark Spiegel, an investment expert at Stanphyl Capital Management, told the BBC it would be “unprecedented” if the feed included the president’s posts. Firms that trade on the latest headlines would be “at a disadvantage” if they did not pay for fast access, he said, though he added: “Trump’s posts constitute just a tiny fraction of what moves markets.”

Trump Media, which launched Truth Social in 2022, is currently loss-making and has recently moved into other businesses, including cryptocurrency, financial services and nuclear fusion, The Guardian reported. The company recently replaced longtime CEO Devin Nunes, a former congressman, with McGurn.

The Guardian reported that Trump Media shares have fallen more than 70% since Trump took office last year, erasing $6 billion in shareholder wealth. The stock rose 0.6% to $9.63 on Thursday; before Trump took office last year, it closed at $40.