Truth Social, a social media platform run by former U.S. President Donald Trump, will become the first publisher on Rumble’s new ad platform, the companies announced on Tuesday. Trump’s project aims to sell ads without using Big Tech companies like Google.
The announcement reveals a strengthening partnership between Rumble, a Canadian video-sharing platform targeted at conservatives, and Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the parent company of Truth Social.
Both Rumble and TMTG are positioning themselves as alternatives to Big Tech companies. Rumble described its new ad platform as competition for Google’s AdSense and Ad Exchange advertising programs in the announcement of its release.
In December, the two parties already reached an agreement on “technology and cloud services” that would cover video and streaming for Truth Social.
According to two people with knowledge of TMTG operations, Rumble had also been working with TMTG for months in a position that was referred to internally as a crucial strategic partnership but was not explicitly described to staff members.
Following the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riots, when Trump was accused of posting messages encouraging violence, Twitter Inc, Facebook, and Alphabet Inc’s YouTube banned him. More than a year later, Truth Social reinstated Trump’s social media presence.
The platform debuted on February 21 in the Apple App Store but hasn’t yet appeared in the Google Play Store for Android users.
For TMTG, advertising is essential to success. The blank-check company that is taking TMTG public, Digital World Acquisition Corp, stated in a filing on May 27 that TMTG “may rely on the sale of advertising services for the substantial majority of TMTG’s revenue.”
In contrast to the more than 88 million followers, he had on Twitter when he was banned, as of Aug. 23 Trump had 3.89 million followers on Truth Social.
