Trump Media & Technology Group, which owns Truth Social, is launching a paid service to give Wall Street firms high-speed access to their most influential posts.
It says that starting August 1, updates will be distributed immediately from the “highest ranking” accounts. At present, US President Donald Trump has the most followers on this platform.
The company behind the app hopes it will create a new source of money for the firm which is currently loss-making.
It is likely to be aimed at financial traders who want to see fast-moving market news. Trump’s social media posts often cause sudden fluctuations in global markets, especially when he writes about trade and tariffs.
Even seconds of delay can be costly for companies. Till now, banks and merchants had to monitor the app manually. The new system will send posts directly to paying customers.
“The market is already moving on Truth Social posts,” said Kevin McGurn, interim Trump media boss. He said the service would generate consistent profits.
Trump Media did not say how much it would charge for this service.
The new commercial data feed, called Truth API, promises to deliver posts to paying institutional clients in “milliseconds.”
This service will run 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The company, which is launching its social media app in 2022, said that some companies have been copying its data for months without permission.
McGurn warned that Trump Media would soon block these methods, forcing companies to purchase official feeds instead.
Trump can benefit greatly from this step. Since his family remains the majority shareholder in the company, the President benefits directly from selling instant access to his own public statements.
The BBC has contacted Trump Media for comment on whether the president’s posts will be included in the paid feed. The White House declined to comment.
While other social media networks already sell data, the move highlights the unique overlap between Trump’s private businesses and his public role as president.
Mark Spiegel, an investment specialist at Stanfill Capital Management, said it would be “unprecedented” if the feature included presidential positions.
Spiegel said that companies that exchange the latest headlines would be “at a disadvantage” if they did not pay for instant access because they might miss posts that could move the market.
He added, “But to put it in context, remember that Trump’s posts are a small part of what changes the market.”
Robert Frenchman, partner at US law firm Dynamis, told Reuters: “It certainly doesn’t seem fair, but yes, a technology platform can enhance the distribution of information without violating federal securities laws.”
Additional reporting by Osmond Chia
