Prime Minister Narendra Modi joins Truth Social

New Delhi, Mar 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has joined Truth Social, the social media platform owned by US President Donald Trump, according to a report by the BBC. Modi is now among a select group of world leaders to become active on the platform. In his inaugural post on Monday, Modi shared a photograph with Trump from his 2019 visit to Houston, Texas, expressing his delight at joining the platform.

Truth Social was launched by Trump in February 2022 following his presidential election defeat to Joe Biden and subsequent suspension from major social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, over allegations that he incited violence. BBC says as of 03:30 GMT, Modi had amassed 21,500 followers and was following Trump and US Vice President JD Vance. On the same day, Trump shared a link to Modi's interview with podcaster Lex Fridman, where the Narender Modi discussed topics like his personal journey, the 2002 Gujarat riots, and India's relations with China.

Truth Social operates similarly to X (formerly Twitter), allowing users to post 'truths' or 'retruths' and exchange direct messages. Advertisements on the platform are known as 'sponsored truths'. The platform is owned by the Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), which Trump took public in March 2024. He now holds approximately 57% of the company's shares. Kuwaiti investment firm ARC Global Investments and several former contestants from The Apprentice also hold significant stakes in TMTG, although some of these holdings are currently entangled in legal disputes.

Trump currently boasts 9.28 million followers on Truth Social, significantly fewer than his 87 million followers on X. Despite its high-profile backers, Truth Social's user base remains substantially smaller than its competitors. Bloomberg data indicates that its total user count is roughly 400 times lower than that of X. BBC says financially, TMTG reported a $400 million loss in 2024 alongside revenues of just $3.6 million. Nonetheless, the company maintains a market valuation of $4.45 billion.