Donald Trump's social media app Truth Social labelled a 'disaster'

Former US President Donald Trump's social media app "Truth Social" which was launched in February, has been judged to be a "disaster" by experts. The app was launched after big social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram along with several others banned Trump for allegedly inciting last year's US Capitol riots.

A mob of Trump supporters, riled up by his repeated false claims that the November 2020 election was stolen from him, had assaulted the US Capitol on January 6 last year.

The app, which is very similar to the micro-blogging platform Twitter, is not available on Android phones and web browsers. "It's been a disaster," Joshua Tucker, director of New York University's Centre for Social Media and Politics, told BBC.

The app had faced a 13-hour-long partial outage just hours after launching. Some people had reported facing trouble while trying to create an account, while some were put on a waitlist. "Due to massive demand, we have placed you on our waitlist," read a pop-up on the app.

The CEO of The Trump Media and Technology Group, Devin Nunes, had then said that the company intended to make the app fully operational by the end of March in the United States.

But things have not gone as planned by Nunes and Trump. There is still a long waitlist of nearly 1.5 million. A recent study found that the app's downloads have come down by 95%.

"Signed up for Truth Social a couple weeks ago and still on a waiting list," read a post by a Twitter user. While another joked: "By the time I'm off the waiting list and on to Truth Social for real, Trump will be President again."

Trump himself has not posted anything on Truth Social since he joined his own app. He currently has around 750,000 followers on the platform. However, it is being said that Trump is "furious" about the fact that there are not enough people using it.

During the launch of the app, Trump had said that the new platform was an alternative to Silicon Valley internet companies that he claims are biased against him and other conservative voices.