Trump to Launch Media Company with Social Media Platform

Former U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is starting a media company with a social media platform. Trump made the announcement in a press release nine months after Twitter and Facebook banned him from their platforms for inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Trump said his Trump Media & Technology Group and its "Truth Social" app were being launched to rival the large technology companies that have denied him access to millions of people, which helped propel his rise in national politics. The company said its app is expected to soft launch this month ahead of a nationwide rollout early next year. The company also said it will introduce a video-on-demand service featuring news, podcasts and entertainment programming. DWA, a firm based in the U.S. city of Miami, raised $287.5 million in a Sept. 8 initial public offering it will use to fund the new company’s ventures, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Trump’s earlier effort to launch a blog on his website was scrapped after the page was not well received. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press.