Politics - News Analysis

Trump’s Social Media App Already Facing Lawsuit for Copying the Logo of a Solar Company

Things are not looking good for Donald Trump’s new social media platform Truth Social but it’s for a reason that’s well…surprising. Trump’s Truth Social App went live on the Apple Store on Monday, February 21, to coincide with President’s Day, five months after it was announced, Newsweek reports.

But almost as soon as it was launched on the Apple Store, users began noticing that Truth Social’s logo — a purple square with a white “T” inside. The only small difference is Truth Social has a small turquoise square on the bottom right side — otherwise it is surprisingly similar (nearly identical, in fact) to a British green energy company, Trailar.

The similarities are so close, in fact, that the Truth Social logo has, according to Newsweek “the left side of the T cut off in the exact same way as Trailar’s, a company which fits solar mats on top of commercial vehicles across the globe, in order to save on fuel, CO2 emissions and maintenance costs.”

The company has confirmed in a statement to Newsweek that it is currently “seeking legal advice” to determine the next steps to take now that it’s aware of the similarities between Truth Social’s logo and its own logo.

“Based on recent news brought to our attention by various media outlets, showcasing the similarities between our own Trailar logo and the Truth Social logo, we are now seeking legal advice to understand next steps and options available to protect our brand,” said Matthew Summers, Trailar’s head of marketing.

“Trailar has no affiliation or connection with the Truth Social network site, with our business firmly focused on decarbonising global transport through the use of solar and data driven technologies.”

And in a tweet, Trailar noted: “Great to see Donald Trump support a growing sustainability business! Maybe ask next time?

But this isn’t the only problem facing Truth Social on its launch day. Many right-wing figures are asking for followers on the platform, but even so, tens of thousands of users have found themselves marooned — stranded in queues as they attempt to register their profiles. Others, however, are seeing frequent error messages.

Sounds like something that would be affiliated with Trump, now doesn’t it?

On Monday it was reported that over 170,000 people are currently on a waiting list to register an account with the right-wing site. The Truth Social App isn’t currently available on Android. There’s also no corresponding website for users to access.

The app, as created by the Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) is right-wing “free speech” and it’s similar to Parler, Gettr, and Gab. It was set up by Trump in the aftermath of his being permanently banned from Twitter, Instagram, and all other media sites after the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

Like so many other things Trump has tried to succeed at, Truth Social may be doomed to fail. And let’s hope so. We need another right-wing media site about as much as we need Trump.

meet the author

Megan has lived in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida and she currently lives in Central America. Living in these places has informed her writing on politics, science, and history. She is currently owned by 15 cats and 3 dogs and regularly owns Trump supporters when she has the opportunity. She can be found on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GaiaLibra and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/politicalsaurus

Comments

Comments are currently closed.