Critics say the move creates a new way for US President Donald Trump to spend money in his office
US President Donald Trump’s social network “Truth Social” will begin selling investors early access to posts from popular accounts, most likely including his own, the company that owns it has announced.
Critics argue that the move could create an unprecedented new way for the president to profit from his office, given his family’s control of Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the parent of the publicly traded conglomerate.
The move was announced on Thursday, when TMTG launched the Truth API, a business-to-business data distribution system. “real-time access to posts from top Social Reality accounts.”
What is the offer?
The service will provide paying institutional clients and algorithmic trading companies with machine-readable access to posts from top Social Reality accounts. “in milliseconds,” instead of relying on manual monitoring, TMTG said. The feed will offer 24/7 coverage and an archive of posts dating back to 2022. It is scheduled to launch on August 1, although the company did not disclose pricing.
“Marketing is already moving to Social Reality posts. The Reality API provides a live, authenticated and real-time feed of the most moving Reality in the market,” said Kevin McGurn, Interim Chief Executive Officer of TMTG. “We expect Truth API to be a significant and sustainable source of revenue for the company, creating lasting value for shareholders.”
Trump founded TMTG in 2021 after several major social media platforms suspended his accounts following the January 6 Capitol protests. He has used Social Truth extensively to announce major policy decisions and posts that have repeatedly moved financial markets – such as his post on April 9, 2025 announcing a 90-day moratorium on high fees, which sent Wall Street indices higher within minutes.
Why is it different?
While other platforms also sell paid access to data, critics argue that Truth Social’s move is different because it potentially allows Trump to monetize official presidential communications.
While the announcement does not make it clear that the process will cover Trump’s own posts, the president is the most followed account on the platform with 12.9 million followers, followed by his sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, and the White House. Critics argue that as TMTG’s largest shareholder, he stands to benefit directly from the new service.
“He’s selling instant and privileged access to information about what he’s doing as president,” Kathleen Clark of the University of Washington School of Law and an expert on government conflict of interest laws told the AP. “It is the worst corruption yet, the improper exploitation of government power for self-enrichment.”
Conflict of interest
US conflict of interest laws prevent senior branch officials from participating in government affairs in which they have a financial interest. The president and vice president, however, are exempt.
Ethics experts note, however, that past presidents generally set aside assets that created conflicts and avoided monetizing official communications. Trump, in contrast, has retained his stake in TMTG, along with significant crypto and real estate holdings. Recent financial disclosures show that its 2025 revenue exceeded $2.2 billion.
Many cases this year attracted attention after well-planned trades before political ads brought huge profits. The Financial Times reported in March that oil traders placed more than $500 million in bets minutes before Trump announced “produces” negotiations with Iran at the height of the war. The timing led to questions about who might benefit, though the White House denied any official benefited from inside knowledge.
Separately, market opinion forum The Kobeissi Letter claimed in May that a large crude oil position placed shortly before reports of a possible US-Iran peace deal generated about $125 million in just over an hour, again fueling domestic trade speculation.
Also on Thursday, CNN reported that Trump himself may have invested time around his Social Truth posts. The agency said after comparing Trump’s posts with stock trades disclosed in its annual financial filings, it found at least 44 purchases involving 21 companies, including Nvidia, Tesla, Boeing, RTX, and Northrop Grumman, in the week before Trump sent messages about those companies, their executives or products.
A spokesperson for the Trump Organization emphasized in a statement that “Neither President Trump, his family, nor the Trump Organization has any role in selecting, directing, or approving specific investments.” In the past, Trump has also played down concerns, telling reporters last week that outside parties make his investment decisions and that his gains only reflect a strong stock market.
