What kinds of promises does it take for Truth Social, a platform renowned for spreading misinformation and falsehoods by its most prolific and influential users, to get approved on Google Play Store? Well, neither Google, nor the app are saying.
Late on Wednesday Trump Media & Technology Group, the holding company behind the Truth Social app, announced their app was now available for download on Google Play Store. Check your phone and… yep, there it is, the big blue “T” staring back at you like the Eye of Sauron.
The thing is, up until now Google has been restricting the app from being distributed on its main app store because, at least back in August, Truth did not have “effective systems for moderating user-generated content” as part of the company’s terms of service for apps. At the time, TMTG said they were working with Google to comply with its policies “without compromising our promise to be a haven for free speech.” The company further complained that other apps like Twitter were allowed on Play Store, showing a tweet of California Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat, and mischaracterizing it as “a tweet threatening nuclear war.”
Gizmodo reached out to Google to ask what Truth Social may have implemented that would comply with Google’s content moderation policies, but we did not immediately hear back. Google has simply confirmed in vague terms to other outlets that Truth Social has met its content moderation standards.
We also reached out to TMTG for comment but we have not heard back. In their Wednesday press release, the company’s CEO, ex congressman Devin Nunes, said, “It’s been a pleasure to work with Google, and we’re glad they helped us to finally bring Truth Social to all Americans, regardless of what device they use.”
The thing is, Truth Social has been awash in misinformation, anti-vax conspiracies, and QAnon content almost from day one. A recent report from a media watchdog group labelled numerous times former President Donald Trump, one of the app’s most subscribed-to accounts and Truth Social’s poster child, was actively platforming QAnon content. A reminder, QAnon is the deranged conspiracy that all Democrats are part of a satan-worshiping cult of child sex abusers, and that Trump and his cronies will one day excise all the globalists from their seats of power in a mass arrest called “the storm.”
Google Play requires apps that feature user content to have content moderation policies that prevent illegal content as well as any user post that could be considered to incite violence or promote hate speech. Axios noted that Truth Social was still available on Android devices by being downloadable from its website and on Samsung Galaxy Store. Apple has also allowed Truth Social to be up for download for months on its App Store.
Truth Social’s terms of service includes restrictions on “false, inaccurate, or misleading” information as well as content deemed “obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, violent, harassing, libelous, slanderous, or otherwise objectionable.”
Meanwhile, it has been incredibly unclear just what content Truth Social does actively moderate. The company has said it wants its platform to be “family friendly” and does appear to restrict any kind of sexual content. However, an August report from the liberal think tank Public Citizen noted that Truth Social is very heavy handed on banning posts and accounts when the content involves information regarding the Jan. 6 hearings, or opinions that express support for abortion access.
At the same time, Public Citizen noted some other examples of more right-wing content, including Blake Shelton quotes and conspiracies about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy being a “deep state clown” were also banned. Users also reported large numbers of shadow banned accounts and their content being restricted without any notification or reasoning given.
With how vaguely Truth Social has enforced its content moderation policies before, how long does Google or Apple expect to keep the app up for download before we see even more reports of conspiracist or hateful content being propagated on the platform?
But despite this victory for Truth Social, TMTG is still struggling to maintain itself as a company. The merger meant to make Truth tradable as a public company was reportedly in the dirt as of early September. That company which would acquire Truth Social, Digital World Acquisition Corp., now has a public address out of a P.O. Box in a Miami UPS store located between an Italian restaurant and a nail salon. Whatever is going on with the company, it’s likely not good news for Truth Social’s financial situation.