The mainstream media won’t like this.
Donald Trump’s Media & Technology Group recently unveiled plans on its investor relations page for its inaugural venture designed to boost shareholder value—an innovative streaming service dubbed TMTG+.
TMTG+ is set to offer a subscription-based platform, initially proposed by Trump back in 2021, featuring what it terms “non-woke” entertainment. This curated content includes news, documentaries, podcasts, and more, deliberately crafted to operate beyond the confines of what it perceives as the undue influence of “Big Tech.” This strategic move aims to cater to an audience disenchanted with the prevailing landscape of digital media.
The term “woke,” originally a phrase within Black communities to signify awareness of social injustices and racial discrimination, has undergone a transformation. Its contemporary usage has been politicized, especially within right-wing conservative circles, where it now serves as a derogatory label for policies or ideologies deemed excessively progressive or politically correct, often neglecting its original context of advocating for social and racial justice.
While specific details remain undisclosed, the nascent company has garnered significant attention in the market since its launch, with investors eagerly anticipating strategies to generate revenue. Despite a robust stock performance, Trump-owned ventures have struggled to translate market value into substantial revenue streams since their inception in 2022.
Termed the “election stock” and tagged as a “meme stock” by market analysts, the company, valued at $9.5 billion, reported modest revenues of $3.4 million during the first nine months of 2023, coupled with substantial losses totaling $49 million.
With a controlling stake of 58 percent, Trump, if reelected, would become the first U.S. president to hold such a position in a publicly traded entity. However, this wouldn’t be Trump’s first foray into the stock market.
Trump Hotel & Casino Resorts, which went public in June 1995 but filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection within a decade, shares a parallel in its stock symbol, DJT, with Truth Social. Despite a promising market debut, Trump Hotel & Casino Resorts encountered financial turmoil, accumulating debts of $1.8 billion before Trump’s stake was significantly reduced.
Although Truth Social, with its emphasis on free expression and defiance against Big Tech censorship, holds promise in the eyes of its CEO Devin Nunes, some market experts view it as merely a meme stock. CNBC’s Bob Pisani believes that Truth Social’s trajectory in the market will likely remain characterized by speculative trading.
Nevertheless, the company remains steadfast in its mission to provide a digital platform conducive to free speech, attributing its presence on the stock market to a growing demand for alternative social media spaces untethered from perceived censorship by Big Tech conglomerates.