Trump Media & Technology Group is launching a paid data service giving traders high-speed access to posts on its Truth Social platform, including those from President Trump. The move has drawn sharp criticism from ethics experts, who call it a "huge conflict of interest" because the president's family, the largest shareholder, could profit from selling privileged access to market-moving official announcements. The service launches amid steep financial losses for the company.
Truth Social API launch
- ▪Interim CEO Kevin McGurn said the service is part of a strategy to monetize assets and is expected to become a "meaningful, ongoing source of revenue."
- ▪The service is designed for organizations like high-frequency and algorithmic trading firms
- ▪The new service, called Truth PSI, is scheduled to launch on August 1
- ▪Trump Media & Technology Group announced it will sell paying customers real-time access to Truth Social posts via a data feed
Conflict of interest concerns
- ▪Ethics experts argue the service creates a conflict of interest, as President Trump could profit from selling expedited access to his official announcements
- ▪Kathleen Clark, a government ethics expert at Washington University School of Law, called the service an "improper exploitation of government power to enrich himself."
- ▪Virginia Canter of the nonprofit Democracy Defenders Fund called the move a "huge conflict of interest."
- ▪Federal conflict-of-interest laws that would bar such an arrangement contain an exemption for the president and vice-president
- ▪The Trump family is the largest shareholder in Trump Media & Technology Group, the public company that operates Truth Social
Trump's Truth Social dominance
- ▪In one instance, Trump announced on Truth Social that he would reinstate a naval blockade against Iran and impose a 20% fee on commercial traffic
- ▪President Trump's @realDonaldTrump account is the largest on Truth Social, with 12.9 million followers as of July 2026
- ▪President Trump regularly uses Truth Social to make major announcements on topics including the Iran war, tariffs, and immigration policy
Trump Media financial struggles
- ▪Trump Media & Technology Group trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker DJT and went public on March 26, 2024
- ▪Trump Media reported a net loss of $406 million in the first quarter of 2026
- ▪Donald Trump was issued approximately 114 million shares, 42% of Trump Media, which he transferred to a trust in his son's name upon winning the presidency
- ▪The company's stock fell 84% between its public listing on March 26, 2024, and July 16, 2026
Social media API precedent
- ▪Unlike other platforms, Truth Social is the primary outlet for official announcements by the sitting U.S. President
- ▪Other social media platforms also offer paid API data feeds to customers like hedge funds
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