Truth Social to sell faster Trump posts to traders, sparking ethics concerns
Truth Social will sell Wall Street traders a paid fast feed of Donald Trump's posts from Saturday. The service could boost revenue while fuelling concerns over insider trading and public office for private gain.
President Donald Trump's social media company Truth Social will from Saturday offer Wall Street traders a service that gives them faster access to his posts if they pay for it. The move could create a new source of revenue for the company, but it has also raised questions about insider trading and the use of public office for private gain.
Fast feeds are already sold by other social media and media companies, but critics say Truth Social is different because Trump's posts can move markets on issues ranging from wars and tariffs to the US central bank and individual companies. "If this was the CEO a public company, this would be jail time," said Irene Aldridge, head of Able Alpha Trading, which does not plan to buy the service. "We have a President of the United States who has the front seat to all the action, who makes all the decisions, and he's disclosing this ahead of time to a select group."
Asked about the propriety of the new service and whether White House lawyers had vetted it, Trump's press office declined to comment and referred questions to Trump Media & Technology, the publicly traded parent of Truth Social. The company said critics were mischaracterising the service "out of ideological opposition to free markets or a failure to grasp the distinction between public and nonpublic information - or, quite possibly, both".
Trump is a prolific poster, and his posts have sent stocks, bonds and currencies sharply up and down. That creates opportunities for high-frequency traders, who buy and sell within milliseconds to profit from small and short-lived price changes. This month alone, Trump has threatened on Truth Social to impose higher tariffs on Canada, end a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia and widen the Iran war. The report said traders with advance speed access could have profited by betting on a fall in the Canadian dollar, a drop in nuclear energy stocks and a rise in oil futures.
"For the big guys, it's going to be something they need," said Joe Saluzzi, co-founder of Themis Trading, who estimated that about 100 high-frequency firms might be willing to pay for the service. "It's market-moving information." The product, called Truth API, comes as such firms spend more on direct feeds and servers that bypass slower internet connections. The report said artificial intelligence has also made it easier to scan posts and articles quickly for market-moving developments.
The report said traders stand to gain especially when Trump makes surprise announcements and then reverses course, because they can bet on prices moving in both directions within fractions of a second. In addition to Trump, the service will also include posts from other "high ranking" Truth Social contributors, possibly including his sons Donald Jr and Eric. Truth Social has said the information will be released to traders and the general public at the same time, but Saluzzi said that was beside the point. "Somebody who buys the info and has a system built to process it will be able to act quicker than you and me," he said, adding, "The loser is always the retail investor."
Another attraction for subscribers is Trump's recent posts about publicly traded companies. "The pimping of specific companies - obviously Wall Street would like to know that before other people," said Dylan Hedler-Gaudette of the watchdog Project on Government Oversight. "It's a real mess." In April, moments after Trump praised Palantir Technologies in a post that included its stock symbol, the share price briefly logged its biggest jump in a year. Later that month, he posted, "Congratulations on Intel doing such a great job," and the stock immediately rose in after-hours trading.
It is not clear which firms, if any, have signed up. None of the half dozen best-known high-speed traders contacted in the report, including Citadel Securities and XTX Markets, replied to requests for comment. If only three firms subscribe at the USD 100,000-a-month price, the report said, that would double Trump Media's revenue, after it reported USD 3.7 million last year.
The company could use the money. Stock in Truth Social's parent has fallen 75 per cent since Trump took office last year, while the company has continued to report losses running into hundreds of millions of dollars. Trump uses Truth Social so often for announcements that the White House press office sometimes forwards his posts in response to media queries, and if the posts are not yet up, journalists are at times told, "Wait for the Truth."
The report said Democrats could investigate the service if they win control of Congress. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren said on Friday, "We will haul in those responsible for this open corruption to answer to the American people." Even so, some expect Trump to lean even more on the platform if the company's losses continue. "That's absolutely going to happen," said Craig Holman of Public Citizen. "Trump knows how to sell products." Overall, the new service could boost Truth Social's business while intensifying concerns over how market-moving presidential posts are being sold to paying traders.
With PTI Inputs
President Donald Trump's social media company Truth Social will from Saturday offer Wall Street traders a service that gives them faster access to his posts if they pay for it. The move could create a new source of revenue for the company, but it has also raised questions about insider trading and the use of public office for private gain.
Fast feeds are already sold by other social media and media companies, but critics say Truth Social is different because Trump's posts can move markets on issues ranging from wars and tariffs to the US central bank and individual companies. "If this was the CEO a public company, this would be jail time," said Irene Aldridge, head of Able Alpha Trading, which does not plan to buy the service. "We have a President of the United States who has the front seat to all the action, who makes all the decisions, and he's disclosing this ahead of time to a select group."
Asked about the propriety of the new service and whether White House lawyers had vetted it, Trump's press office declined to comment and referred questions to Trump Media & Technology, the publicly traded parent of Truth Social. The company said critics were mischaracterising the service "out of ideological opposition to free markets or a failure to grasp the distinction between public and nonpublic information - or, quite possibly, both".
Trump is a prolific poster, and his posts have sent stocks, bonds and currencies sharply up and down. That creates opportunities for high-frequency traders, who buy and sell within milliseconds to profit from small and short-lived price changes. This month alone, Trump has threatened on Truth Social to impose higher tariffs on Canada, end a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia and widen the Iran war. The report said traders with advance speed access could have profited by betting on a fall in the Canadian dollar, a drop in nuclear energy stocks and a rise in oil futures.
"For the big guys, it's going to be something they need," said Joe Saluzzi, co-founder of Themis Trading, who estimated that about 100 high-frequency firms might be willing to pay for the service. "It's market-moving information." The product, called Truth API, comes as such firms spend more on direct feeds and servers that bypass slower internet connections. The report said artificial intelligence has also made it easier to scan posts and articles quickly for market-moving developments.
The report said traders stand to gain especially when Trump makes surprise announcements and then reverses course, because they can bet on prices moving in both directions within fractions of a second. In addition to Trump, the service will also include posts from other "high ranking" Truth Social contributors, possibly including his sons Donald Jr and Eric. Truth Social has said the information will be released to traders and the general public at the same time, but Saluzzi said that was beside the point. "Somebody who buys the info and has a system built to process it will be able to act quicker than you and me," he said, adding, "The loser is always the retail investor."
Another attraction for subscribers is Trump's recent posts about publicly traded companies. "The pimping of specific companies - obviously Wall Street would like to know that before other people," said Dylan Hedler-Gaudette of the watchdog Project on Government Oversight. "It's a real mess." In April, moments after Trump praised Palantir Technologies in a post that included its stock symbol, the share price briefly logged its biggest jump in a year. Later that month, he posted, "Congratulations on Intel doing such a great job," and the stock immediately rose in after-hours trading.
It is not clear which firms, if any, have signed up. None of the half dozen best-known high-speed traders contacted in the report, including Citadel Securities and XTX Markets, replied to requests for comment. If only three firms subscribe at the USD 100,000-a-month price, the report said, that would double Trump Media's revenue, after it reported USD 3.7 million last year.
The company could use the money. Stock in Truth Social's parent has fallen 75 per cent since Trump took office last year, while the company has continued to report losses running into hundreds of millions of dollars. Trump uses Truth Social so often for announcements that the White House press office sometimes forwards his posts in response to media queries, and if the posts are not yet up, journalists are at times told, "Wait for the Truth."
The report said Democrats could investigate the service if they win control of Congress. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren said on Friday, "We will haul in those responsible for this open corruption to answer to the American people." Even so, some expect Trump to lean even more on the platform if the company's losses continue. "That's absolutely going to happen," said Craig Holman of Public Citizen. "Trump knows how to sell products." Overall, the new service could boost Truth Social's business while intensifying concerns over how market-moving presidential posts are being sold to paying traders.
With PTI Inputs
President Donald Trump's social media company Truth Social will from Saturday offer Wall Street traders a service that gives them faster access to his posts if they pay for it. The move could create a new source of revenue for the company, but it has also raised questions about insider trading and the use of public office for private gain.
Fast feeds are already sold by other social media and media companies, but critics say Truth Social is different because Trump's posts can move markets on issues ranging from wars and tariffs to the US central bank and individual companies. "If this was the CEO a public company, this would be jail time," said Irene Aldridge, head of Able Alpha Trading, which does not plan to buy the service. "We have a President of the United States who has the front seat to all the action, who makes all the decisions, and he's disclosing this ahead of time to a select group."
Asked about the propriety of the new service and whether White House lawyers had vetted it, Trump's press office declined to comment and referred questions to Trump Media & Technology, the publicly traded parent of Truth Social. The company said critics were mischaracterising the service "out of ideological opposition to free markets or a failure to grasp the distinction between public and nonpublic information - or, quite possibly, both".
Trump is a prolific poster, and his posts have sent stocks, bonds and currencies sharply up and down. That creates opportunities for high-frequency traders, who buy and sell within milliseconds to profit from small and short-lived price changes. This month alone, Trump has threatened on Truth Social to impose higher tariffs on Canada, end a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia and widen the Iran war. The report said traders with advance speed access could have profited by betting on a fall in the Canadian dollar, a drop in nuclear energy stocks and a rise in oil futures.
"For the big guys, it's going to be something they need," said Joe Saluzzi, co-founder of Themis Trading, who estimated that about 100 high-frequency firms might be willing to pay for the service. "It's market-moving information." The product, called Truth API, comes as such firms spend more on direct feeds and servers that bypass slower internet connections. The report said artificial intelligence has also made it easier to scan posts and articles quickly for market-moving developments.
The report said traders stand to gain especially when Trump makes surprise announcements and then reverses course, because they can bet on prices moving in both directions within fractions of a second. In addition to Trump, the service will also include posts from other "high ranking" Truth Social contributors, possibly including his sons Donald Jr and Eric. Truth Social has said the information will be released to traders and the general public at the same time, but Saluzzi said that was beside the point. "Somebody who buys the info and has a system built to process it will be able to act quicker than you and me," he said, adding, "The loser is always the retail investor."
Another attraction for subscribers is Trump's recent posts about publicly traded companies. "The pimping of specific companies - obviously Wall Street would like to know that before other people," said Dylan Hedler-Gaudette of the watchdog Project on Government Oversight. "It's a real mess." In April, moments after Trump praised Palantir Technologies in a post that included its stock symbol, the share price briefly logged its biggest jump in a year. Later that month, he posted, "Congratulations on Intel doing such a great job," and the stock immediately rose in after-hours trading.
It is not clear which firms, if any, have signed up. None of the half dozen best-known high-speed traders contacted in the report, including Citadel Securities and XTX Markets, replied to requests for comment. If only three firms subscribe at the USD 100,000-a-month price, the report said, that would double Trump Media's revenue, after it reported USD 3.7 million last year.
The company could use the money. Stock in Truth Social's parent has fallen 75 per cent since Trump took office last year, while the company has continued to report losses running into hundreds of millions of dollars. Trump uses Truth Social so often for announcements that the White House press office sometimes forwards his posts in response to media queries, and if the posts are not yet up, journalists are at times told, "Wait for the Truth."
The report said Democrats could investigate the service if they win control of Congress. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren said on Friday, "We will haul in those responsible for this open corruption to answer to the American people." Even so, some expect Trump to lean even more on the platform if the company's losses continue. "That's absolutely going to happen," said Craig Holman of Public Citizen. "Trump knows how to sell products." Overall, the new service could boost Truth Social's business while intensifying concerns over how market-moving presidential posts are being sold to paying traders.
With PTI Inputs
