Donald Trump's Media & Technology Group updated its investor relations page with plans for its first venture aimed at enhancing shareholder value—a "non-woke" streaming service.
Called TMTG+, the subscription-based service first announced by Trump in 2021 is expected to include "non-woke" entertainment in the form of news, documentaries, podcasts and other content outside of the purview of what it calls "Big Tech's" influence, according to the page. The move would appeal to viewers disillusioned with the current landscape of digital content.
The term "woke," originally a watchword within Black communities to signal awareness of social injustices and racial prejudice, has evolved. Merriam-Webster defines "woke" as being "aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)."
However, the term has since been co-opted and politicized. In contemporary discourse, particularly among right-wing conservative circles, "woke" has transformed into a pejorative label used to critique policies or ideologies seen as excessively progressive or politically correct, often without addressing the original context of social and racial justice in which the term is rooted.
While further details are unknown, the fledgling company whose stock has performed dramatically well since being launched on Tuesday, may soon be pressured by investors to create value as the Trump-owned venture has not brought in much in terms of revenues since its launch in 2022.
Dubbed the "election stock" and a "meme stock" by market observers, the $9.5 billion company booked revenues of $3.4 million over the first nine months of 2023, alongside losses totaling $49 million.
Newsweek has sought comment from Truth Social through Shannon Devine, its marketing director, on Wednesday.
Owning a 58 percent stake, Trump, if elected in November, would be the first U.S. president with a controlling stake of a publicly traded company, but it wouldn't be the first time he's had a stock on the market.
Issuing its IPO in June 1995 and filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection just nine years later, Trump Hotel & Casino Resorts traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker DJT—the same symbol as Truth Social—and, just like Truth Social, saw a strong market debut.
However, over the course of its short life as a publicly traded company, Trump Hotel & Casino Resorts saw its debt swell to $1.8 billion before Trump entered a deal with Credit Suisse that saw its debt reduced, and his stake cut from 56 percent to 25 percent, according to a 2004 NBC News report.
It would file for bankruptcy three times afterward. None of the properties exist anymore.
Trump currently owns 58 percent of Truth Social.
While Truth Social virtually makes no money (as compared to its multibillion dollar market capitalization), its time on the market could be different than Trump Hotel & Casino Resorts, according to the enthusiasm echoed by its CEO Devin Nunes in a statement on Tuesday.
"We built this company to protect the American people's voices and their freedom," Nunes said, adding, "Having transformed into a public company, Truth Social remains committed to maintaining and vehemently defending a digital space for free expression."
The company believes that Truth Social's presence on the stock market is a reflection of "Americans' demands for free-speech platforms that reject the stifling censorship imposed by Big Tech."
Though, according to market experts like CNBC's Bob Pisani, Truth Social is just a meme stock, and it will continue to trade that way.
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Aj Fabino is a Newsweek reporter based in Chicago. His focus is reporting on Economy & Finance. Aj joined Newsweek ... Read more
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