Former US President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against the two founders of Trump Media, accusing him of mismanagement of the social media platform Truth Social.
In response, co-founders Wes Moss and Andy Litinsky previously filed a lawsuit against Trump in February to protect their stake in the company.
The legal dispute comes after a Capitol uprising in January, where Trump faced bans on major social media platforms and Moss and Litinsky proposed creating Truth Social. The initiative, currently under review, aims to provide an alternative to mainstream social media.
In a new lawsuit filed in Florida state court on March 24, Trump’s legal representatives allege that Moss and Litinsky caused significant damage to Truth Social’s parent company, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG). The lawsuit alleges that the founders’ decision caused TMTG’s stock to drop and delayed the company’s IPO.
The legal battle is heating up as Trump’s lawyers argue over the cancellation of Moss and Litinsky’s shares, which are worth about $600 million. The former president founded TMTG in 2021 in response to being excluded from major social media platforms after the Capitol uprising.
The lawsuit comes after Truth Social recently announced a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Although the initial market jitters characterized by rising stock prices, Social Truth faced regulatory scrutiny and other challenges to its merger agreement, which led to a subsequent decline in its stock price.
Neither Wes Moss nor Andy Litinsky could be immediately reached for comment on Trump’s lawsuit against them. This ongoing legal saga illustrates the intersectional complexity of technology, policy and governance, and the future of Truth Social and its stakeholders is uncertain.
