Donald Trump’s social media app “Truth Social” in Apple’s App Store on iPhone.
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Shares of Digital World Acquisition Corp., the shell company that is preparing to take Trump Media and Technology Corporation public, surged after former President Donald Trump’s social media platform Truth Social was allowed to appear on the Google Play Store on Tuesday. Private.
Shares of DWAC were up more than 18% on Thursday. Nasdaq paused DWAC trading for about five minutes Thursday morning during the bull run.
This change means that the app is now available on the app store for 44% of US smartphone users with Android devices. Former Android users could access the platform through their web browser or through “sideloading” the app through the Truth Social website.
Application was previously banned from the Google Play Store for violating Google’s guidelines for moderating user-generated content.
“Apps can be distributed on Google Play as long as they adhere to our developer guidelines, which include the requirement to effectively moderate user-generated content and remove objectionable posts. , such as those that incite violence,” a Google spokesperson said Wednesday.
According to Google, Truth Social has agreed to enforce content moderation and remove and block users who publish posts that incite violence.
The foundation was founded by Trump after he was banned on twitter in january 2021 “due to the risk of further inciting violence”, after hundreds of his supporters stormed the US Capitol.
DWAC shares fall in early October when Elon Musk said he would buy Twitter. The billionaire had previously said he would restore Trump’s account. The former president has more than 80 million followers on Twitter, but he only has about 4 million on Truth Social.
Investors cited these shortfalls among the reasons they withdrew from the DWAC-Trump Media merger. The company lost $138 million in $1 billion in private investment after a key deadline was passed in September.
DWAC is currently pushing for an extension of the merger deadline, currently set for December 8. The company needs 65% of shareholders to approve a one-year extension, but so far has not received support. full. If there is no extension or completion of the merger, DWAC will liquidate on December 8. The shareholder vote has been delayed until November 3.
The deal is also the subject of a Justice Department investigation into possible securities violations related to undisclosed discussions between the companies prior to the merger announcement. A whistleblower and founder of Trump Communications and Technology Corporation, William Wilkerson, flagged potential violations to the SEC.
“One way or another, this company will go bankrupt,” Wilkerson recently told the Miami Herald. “I don’t think the company will be approved by the SEC.”
Trump Media said the company is exploring legal action against the SEC for delaying the deal.
