Troubles mount for Trump's Truth Social, Nunes decries 'phony narrative'

Trouble appears to be brewing for former President Donald Trump's social networking app Truth Social, according to several reports.  

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Mobile app market intelligence and insight provider SensorTower finds that user interest in Truth Social has taken a significant hit since its launch on Feb. 21. The firm estimates that Truth Social saw approximately 41,000 installs from March 21 to March 27, down 95% compared with 866,000 installs seen during its first week of launch. According to SensorTower, the app has been installed roughly 1.3 million times since launch.

Reuters and Politico also reported Truth Social's chief technology, product development and legal officers have all resigned.

The data and reported departures come as the platform has struggled with a slow rollout plagued by technical issues and a waiting list that has blocked thousands of potential users from immediately joining. Truth Social initially set a goal to be fully operational by the end of the first quarter. 

The Washington Post reported that Trump has "privately fumed" about Truth Social's slow rollout, with one anonymous source telling the outlet that he has been reluctant to post on the platform because it is "not ready for prime time." 

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Devin Nunes, a former Republican congressman from California who serves as the Trump Media Technology Group (TMTG) chief executive, pushed back on the reports. 

"Despite what this phony narrative is out there, we are adding people every single day to our team, very high-powered, high-quality people, every single day. We're adding people at every level and we're not short of anyone," Nunes told FOX Business Digital. "In fact, what we're bringing people on for right now is future products."

The company's near-term focus, according to Nunes, is to continue to test and build out the platform and ensure all potential users who have downloaded the app from Apple's App Store can get on the platform. The focus will then shift to launching the web version of the platform and getting the app on the Google Play Store for Android users.

Nunes said that Truth Social hopes to lift its waitlist "soon," but that it is contingent on how fast new users are able to come onto the platform. He added that the company does not want potential users still on the waiting list when Trump starts posting more actively. 

"We are here to open the internet back up and give a voice to people," Nunes added. "We're on our own timeline and it's going to be dictated by quality and reliability of the platform."

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Last year, TMTG announced plans to merge with special purpose acquisition company Digital World Acquisition Corp. 

The companies disclosed in December that they entered into subscription agreements for $1 billion in committed capital which will be received upon completion of the merger. The deal is expected to provide proceeds of approximately $1.25 billion, assuming full delivery of the amount of cash held in trust by DWAC. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority are currently investigating the deal.

In November, TMTG said in an investor presentation that Truth Social expects to reach 81 million users by 2026. 

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
DWAC	NO DATA AVAILABLE	-	-	-

While DWAC shares have jumped about 382% in the past year, they are down about 36% in the past month.