The founder of Mastodon, which offers free open-source software that allows users to create social networks, said it appears that "Truth Social," the new social network created by former President Donald Trump, is based on his social media platform.
On Wednesday, Trump announced that Truth Social would be rolled out for some invited guests in November, and for all users sometime in the first quarter of 2022.
While Trump's social network has yet to launch, Vice's technology publication, Motherboard, reported Thursday that some users have already created accounts on the site, posting screenshots of the platform online.
Eugen Rochko, the founder and lead developer of Mastodon, said that based on the screenshots he's seen, Truth Social is "absolutely is based on Mastodon,"
"Well that looks familiar," Mastodon tweeted Thursday in response to a screenshot of Trump's social media site. The screenshot was posted by Mikael Thalen, a journalist with The Daily Dot, who said he managed to create an account on the new platform.
Was just able to setup an account using the handle @donaldtrump on 'Truth Social,' former President Donald Trump's new social media website.
— Mikael Thalen (@MikaelThalen) October 21, 2021
Although the site is not officially open, a URL was discovered allowing users to sign up anyway. pic.twitter.com/MRMQzjNhma
Motherboard pointed out that Truth Social's website states that all of its source code is "proprietary," and that this could conflict with Mastodon's license.
"The main thing is that Mastodon is free software, released under the AGPLv3 license, so anyone can use it—provided they comply with the license. The main part of the license is making the source code and any modifications to it available to the public," Rochko told Motherboard, adding that Truth Social's calling its code proprietary "would be a problem, as that would indicate a license violation."
In a statement on Wednesday, Trump he was creating Truth Social "to stand up to the tyranny of Big Tech."
"We live in a world where the Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter, yet your favorite American president has been silenced. This is unacceptable," Trump said.
The former president has been banned or suspended from several social media platforms, including Twitter, Snapchat , Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitch.
In his statement, Trump also announced the formation of Trump Media & Technology Group which will be launching the new social network.
"[Trump Media & Technology Group] was founded with a mission to give a voice to all," Trump said.
"I'm excited to soon begin sharing my thoughts on TRUTH Social and to fight back against Big Tech," the former president added.
Newsweek reached out to Truth Social and representatives for Trump for comment but did not hear back before publication on Thursday.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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