Donald Trump’s would-be Twitter competitor, the far-right social media platform Truth Social, has stumbled upon yet another roadblock: An Aug. 2 filing from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office shows that the company has been rejected for a trademark, citing the likelihood of confusion over its name.
The documents say that consumers could be led astray because of the similarity of its name to businesses Vero – Truth Social (another social media app) and the Truth Network (a Christian talk radio program). “Trademark Act Section 2(d) bars registration of an applied-for mark that is so similar to a registered mark that it is likely consumers would be confused, mistaken, or deceived as to the commercial source of the goods and/or services of the parties,” the filing reads.
It’s the latest blow to the fledgling app, which is in financial trouble over a lack of users, plummeting stocks, the founder’s own political controversies and a report that it’s stiffing one of its largest vendors out of $1.6 million.
On Thursday, Fox Business reported that RightForge, an internet infrastructure company that provided Truth Social with its web-servicing platform, was locked in a “bitter battle” with the app for having reneged on its contractually obligated monthly payments. Three sources familiar with the matter told the outlet that Truth Social stopped making payments in March, just a month after launching in February. As a result, RightForge is threatening legal action.
The news comes after an earlier Securities and Exchange Commission filing in May from Digital World Acquisition — the special purpose acquisition company planning to take Trump’s start-up, the Trump Media & Technology Group, public — that Truth Social has yet to build a sustainable and adequate revenue model. In a separate SEC filing made Monday, the SPAC warned that the company could lose even further financial standing if Trump becomes “less popular or there are further controversies that damage his credibility or the desire of people to use a platform associated with him.”
In late March, TheWrap exclusively reported that Truth Social plummeted in traffic, seeing a 93% loss in signups following a rocky rollout marred with technical issues the month prior. The social media app was launched as a so-called alternative platform to Twitter, which banned Trump following his involvement in inspiring the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.
