'Trump Social Media' Deficit Snowballing... "97 Billion Won Loss"

Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social, has reported a net loss of $73 million (approximately 97.032 billion KRW) just over a year after its launch.

Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) disclosed in a filing (S-4) submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the 13th (local time) that Truth Social recorded net losses of $50 million last year and $23 million in the first half of this year, respectively.

TMTG is the parent company of Truth Social, where former President Trump serves as chairman of the board. Truth Social, which officially launched in February last year, sought funding through a reverse merger with the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Digital World Acquisition to go public, but the merger process has not been completed, resulting in ongoing financial difficulties.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

TMTG warned that if Truth Social fails to go public, its survival could be threatened due to financial difficulties. In its key investment risk disclosure, TMTG stated, "If Truth Social fails to maintain a sufficient number of followers, if negative issues arise in the overall social media market, or if former President Trump does not devote significant time to Truth Social, it could negatively impact TMTG’s business operations."

Former President Trump is currently a defendant in criminal trials. He is the only former or sitting president to hold defendant status. He faces a total of 91 charges across four indictments, including attempts to overturn the 2020 election results, tax evasion and financial fraud related to his private businesses, the Capitol riot, and leaking White House classified documents.

TMTG also issued a warning regarding its debt crisis. TMTG stated, "Management is concerned about whether there is sufficient capacity to repay debt," and added, "If substantial progress is not made in completing the merger with the SPAC, we have internally concluded that raising funds will be difficult."

After losing the 2020 presidential election, former President Trump was repeatedly warned for inciting supporters via Twitter (now X) and was ultimately banned from Twitter following the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Subsequently, he launched Truth Social independently and sought funding through a merger with Digital World Acquisition. However, since December last year, financial regulators including the SEC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) have launched investigations into possible legal violations during the merger process, and the merger has seen no progress.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.