Julia Love, Helen Coster

(Reuters) – Truth Social is Donald Trump’s new venture in social media. According to posts by an executive who viewed a beta version of Reuters’s App Store, Truth Social could launch on Monday. This may mark the return to social media for the ex-president on U.S. Presidents Day.

A series of late Friday posts by Billy B., the verified account of the chief product officer for the network, addressed questions about the app that were submitted during the beta phase. According to screenshots viewed at Reuters, one user wanted to know when the app would become available to everyone.

Executive replied that “We’re currently scheduled for release on Monday, February 21, in the Apple App Store.”

This launch would bring Trump back to social media, more than one year after his ban. Twitter Inc (NASDAQ)), Facebook (NASDAQ) and Alphabet(NASDAQ:) Inc’s YouTube after the attack on the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021 by his supporters. He was charged with posting inciteful messages.

Donald Jr. Trump, his oldest son, posted to Twitter on Feb. 15, a picture of @realDonaldTrump Truth social account. He uploaded one “truth” post on Feb. 14, which he captioned “Get Ready!” “Your favorite president will be seeing you soon!”

Led by former Republican U.S. Representative Devin Nunes, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the venture behind Truth Social, will join a growing portfolio of technology companies that are positioning themselves as champions of free speech and hope to draw users who feel their views are suppressed on platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The companies include Twitter rivals Gettr and Parler as well as video site Rumble. However, none have yet to reach the same level of popularity that their mainstream peers.

Reuters has seen screenshots that show the app at version 1.0. The post also discloses Monday’s launch date. According to two persons with access, the app was still at version 0.9 as of Wednesday night.

A representative of TMTG didn’t immediately reply to a request for comments.

Apple’s App Store Listing indicates that Truth Social should be launched on February 21, according to sources familiar with this venture. In recent weeks, Nunes has publicly stated that the app will launch at the end March.

According to one person familiar with the matter, Nunes visited the app on Friday to encourage users to share videos, photos, and join in conversation. This was apparently in an attempt to increase activity.

One of Nunes’ post welcomed an unknown user, who looked to be a Catholic priest, and encouraged him encourage more priests to join the church, according to a person familiar with the subject.

TRUTHS CAN NOT BE EDITED IN ANY WAY

Other responses from the chief product officer during Friday’s Q&A session indicated that startup features could be similar to those found on Twitter.

When asked if users could edit their truths, the executive said “not yet.” Twitter users long aspire to be able edit their posts after they are published.

Direct messages (or DMs) between users will soon be the next major feature to hit the platform, according to the executive.

According to the executive, users may sign up for notifications to be notified when content is posted by others. The executive indicated that blocking other users was an essential component.

He wrote that “there will always be blocking functionality in the application.”

The executive stated that Truth Social would issue a policy regarding verified accounts in the next few weeks.

Although details about the app are beginning to leak, TMTG is still kept under wraps and is viewed with suspicion by many in media and tech circles. For example, it is not clear how the company funds its growth.

TMTG intends to list in New York by merging with Blank-Check firm Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC). DWAC has $293 million cash held in trust. DWAC shares will not be redeemed, TMTG stated in an Oct. 21 release.

Moreover, TMTG secured $1 billion of committed financing from investors in December; this money won’t be available until the DWAC transaction closes.

Digital World’s operations have been under review by the Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. The deal is expected to close in the coming months.