Trump launches paid subscription to Truth Social; the opposition cries corruption

Donald Trump is once again accused of corruption after he began selling priority access to his Truth Social messages, which sometimes have a considerable impact on the markets, to certain investors.

On Saturday, Trump Media, of which the US president is the main shareholder, launched a new service, "Truth API" ("Application Programming Interface"), announced in mid-July.

Available by subscription - the Axios website mentions a monthly price ranging from $60,000 to $100,000 - it promises almost instant access to Donald Trump's publications on his network, just before the general public becomes aware of them.

According to the Wall Street Journal, five financial firms had subscribed to "Truth API" shortly after its launch.

The idea is to "give the fastest investors and algorithms an advantage that is measured in fractions of a second," explains Art Hogan, an analyst for wealth manager B. Riley Wealth Management, interviewed by AFP.

Democratic Senator Mark Warner announced Tuesday on X that he will introduce legislation to "put an end to this corruption and ensure that all Americans have free and fair access to public announcements made by government officials."

- Abuse of power -

Her colleagues Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff had already called, in a statement published on July 29, for an investigation by the powerful stock market regulator, the SEC, into what they describe as an "outrageous abuse of power".

Truth Social, a private network owned by a publicly traded company, is used as an official communication channel by the US president.

He announces major diplomatic, military or economic decisions there, whether on Iran or on customs duties, regularly causing global markets to sway.

However, companies specializing in ultra-fast transactions, if they receive this information a little in advance, can theoretically anticipate the market reaction and earn millions, or even tens of millions of dollars, by selling or buying shares or commodities.

Just hours after the launch of this new service, the American president demonstrated his ability to send markets into a frenzy.

He announced on Saturday on Truth Social that he was suspending planned massive strikes against Iran. Shortly after, at the opening of the markets, oil prices plunged, as they do every time the American president backtracks.

Information about the conduct of the conflict in Iran "does not belong to Trump personally," but to the US government, and the president is therefore not supposed to sell its dissemination for the benefit of a company with which he is associated, says Ann Lipton, a law professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

- "Everyone benefits" -

According to this stock market regulation specialist, interviewed by AFP, the former property developer "knows that the more he moves the markets, the more profitable the subscription (to Truth API) becomes", which she considers "dangerous".

"Trump has good reason to release information that is extremely sensitive for the markets because it's the only way to gain or retain followers," she analyzes. And this is true "regardless of whether these releases are in the interest of Americans."

The president and his family have faced accusations of undue personal enrichment and conflicts of interest since the beginning of the Republican's second term.

Donald Trump dismisses these criticisms out of hand.

In early July, he defended his claim to have earned approximately $1.2 billion from his cryptocurrency activities by 2025, asserting that "everyone was benefiting" from his return to power.

His personal wealth increased from $2.3 billion to $6.5 billion between 2024 and 2026, according to Forbes magazine.

The billionaire and his sons Eric and Don Jr., very active businessmen, repeatedly state that they do not have control over the family's income, which they say is invested in independent funds.

In a CNN/SSRS poll conducted at the end of July, 64% of respondents felt that the US president had gone "too far" in "pursuing his personal financial interests."