Donald Trump is facing a lawsuit from two US media groups regarding a new Truth Social service that allows subscribers to pay as much as $100,000 per month for early access to his social media posts. The legal action was initiated on Wednesday in a New York federal court by The Intercept and the Freedom of the Press Foundation.
The plaintiffs argue that the platform’s decision to sell priority access to the president’s communications is “extraordinary, corrupt and unconstitutional.” They contend that this arrangement provides an unfair advantage to wealthy clients, effectively creating a system where market-sensitive information is funneled to paying subscribers before the general public.
The service, known as Truth API, was launched in mid-July. It promises to deliver posts from Donald Trump and other prominent accounts to clients in milliseconds. Currently, more than 10 firms are paying for this fast-track data feed. Trump remains the most followed user on the platform with approximately 13 million followers, significantly ahead of his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., who has about 7.5 million.
The lawsuit characterizes the Truth API as a calculated “scheme” designed to generate revenue. It highlights that Donald Trump holds the largest stake in Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) through a revocable trust that controls roughly 41% of the company—a holding valued at over $1 billion. As the sole beneficiary of this trust, the former president stands to benefit directly from the venture.
Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, stated that selling priority access to news generated by the president for the benefit of a company he controls is “so blatantly corrupt and unconstitutional that it would have been hard to even fathom just a few years ago.” David Bralow, chief legal officer at The Intercept, added that charging for early access to public announcements is “antithetical to the free, independent press.”
In response to the litigation, a spokesperson for TMTG dismissed the claims, describing the plaintiffs as “left-wing activists” who are attempting to “wrongfully weaponize the courts” to censor the former president and harm company shareholders. The spokesperson further noted that information from Donald Trump is disseminated across numerous platforms, many of which utilize subscription-based APIs.
The company maintained that the product is intended for businesses requiring faster data feeds and rejected concerns regarding how the information is utilized. Additionally, the TMTG representative accused the Freedom of the Press Foundation of violating the platform’s terms of service.
While the has reached out to the White House for comment, TMTG continues to defend the service, describing Truth Social as an “uncancellable haven for free speech” established after the president was previously de-platformed.
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