# What about Trump's new social network? I hear crickets **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [February 23, 2022, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-trumps-new-social-network-i-hear-crickets/960024 "2022-02-23T22:19:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 28
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2023, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-trumps-new-social-network-i-hear-crickets/960024/541 "2023-07-01T20:55:14Z")
Yeh, but like tweets, they’re rate-limited. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2023, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-trumps-new-social-network-i-hear-crickets/960024/542 "2023-07-01T22:27:02Z")
It’s a movie reference; wanted to see if anybody would catch it. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2023, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-trumps-new-social-network-i-hear-crickets/960024/543 "2023-07-01T22:30:46Z")
[Whitewater](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitewater_controversy). The classics never go out of style. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2023, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-trumps-new-social-network-i-hear-crickets/960024/544 "2023-09-02T21:48:12Z")
> **[Trump’s Truth Social platform faces uncertain future as key test looms](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/02/trump-truth-social-digital-world-merger)** > > Former president’s social media platform is asking shareholders in Digital World for another year to complete merger > If shareholders fail to approve an extension, Digital World will be required to liquidate and return $300m it raised, leaving Trump’s Trump Media & Technology Group with nothing from the transaction. I’m guessing the shareholders will vote to extend as many may well be Trump sympathisers. But equally they might want their money back. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2023, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-trumps-new-social-network-i-hear-crickets/960024/545 "2023-09-02T22:01:16Z")
Prediction: In steps Musk to provide a platform for the liar on twitter. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2023, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-trumps-new-social-network-i-hear-crickets/960024/546 "2023-09-02T22:09:24Z")
He posted his mugshot on Twitter last week. He’s not back fulltime I guess because he is obligated to post on Truth Social first and wait some hours before he can post the same thing anywhere else. But it’s just a matter of time. [Trump returns to site formerly known as Twitter, posts his mug shot shortly after Georgia surrender | AP News](https://apnews.com/article/trump-twitter-tweets-return-49594b9f72c68a309758e19bc9cdce0f) ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-trumps-new-social-network-i-hear-crickets/960024/547 "2023-09-03T00:23:55Z")
I’m predicting any investors who want their money back will be sorely disappointed. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-trumps-new-social-network-i-hear-crickets/960024/548 "2023-09-04T18:15:09Z")
There are three (four) classes of investors in DWAC. The first group are the initial investors who got in on the ground floor for $10 a share. They probably sold some/most/all of their shares early on and made out like bandits fleecing the rubes to a tune of ten fold return on their investment in the first few weeks. If they have any shares left then then if the deal doesn’t go through they would get back their original $10 more or less (minus some operating expenses plus some escrow investment income). But already made their money and so all that is left is peanuts that they don’t really care about. Any that are left now probably fall into the 3rd group listed below. The second group of investors are the gullible Trump bots who bought the DWAC shares at highly inflated prices from the first group. They aren’t getting their money back. If they sold now they would probably around 20% of their investment back, while if the deal collapses they get back a round 13%. The ones that are left are probably the true diehards who will ride the train to oblivion, in the hope that when the “Storm” comes and Trump is elevated to godhood their faith will be rewarded and they can sell at a thousand times its current value. The third group is probably legitimate speculators who didn’t buy in the original surge but decided that now the the furor calmed down, it might be worth while investing at a low price just high risk but potentially high return. If the deal does ever go through then there will probably be another surge of true believer investors who they can fleece. Or maybe cash in on a mini surge like what happened when [Trump got indicted](https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/31/investing/stocks-trump-dwac-phunware/index.html). (usually having your investment partner get indicted is be bad for a stock price but welcome to Bizzaro Trump world). At worst if it all falls through they can at least get $10 share, but since its currently trading at around $16 a share they have no incentive to pull that trigger. Then there is a possible 4th class that consists of one individual: Individual One. He was supposed to sell his media company for a giant windfall of stock which would put him in the first set of investors, which he could immediate flip to the Rubes before heading for the exits and leaving them holding the bag. But unfortunately for him the deal didn’t happen before the bottom fell out and so all of the prime fleecing has already been done. It have killed him to watch his giant cash cow deflate before his eyes without his being able to do anything about it and to see others rake in the grift that should have been his. Just thinking about it give me a nice warm happy feeling. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-trumps-new-social-network-i-hear-crickets/960024/549 "2023-09-04T18:34:53Z")
Question: What are the financial underpinnings currently of all that stock? Is there even enough left of the investors’ money/any income to the site that hasn’t already been spent/burned through/grifted off to pay out even ten bucks a share? I’m wondering whether there’s actually any money left in the shambling carcass of Truth Social at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecc23a/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada_Jr)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-trumps-new-social-network-i-hear-crickets/960024/550 "2023-09-04T18:45:26Z")
There are a couple of things going on here. There is Digital World Acquisition Corp, a publicly traded “blank check” company that basically consists of a pot of money, around $10 for each available DWAC share. There is Trump Social, a privately-held company that consists of a flailing social media company. There is a proposal to merge the two. Shareholders in DWAC would get some shares of Trump Social, and Trump Social (the company) would get the cash from DWAC. If the proposal falls apart, DWAC shareholders will get their money back, and there is $10 for each of them (plus or minus some change) (absent outright fraud on the part of the DWAC officers, which is a definite possibility). As **Buck Godot** mentions above, most of the DWAC shareholders probably acquired their shares on the open market and paid well above $10 for them. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-trumps-new-social-network-i-hear-crickets/960024/551 "2023-09-04T18:53:07Z")
As Reno\_Nevada says at this point in time DWAC is a separate entity from Truth Social. So any shenanigans going on there aren’t going to draw off of the $10/share escrow that DWAC has. DWAC itself doesn’t do anything except sit on its money make press releases, host investor meetings, and hire lawyers. Probably the main expense was an $18 million dollar fine paid recently. Which, incidentally, caused the [stock price to soar](https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/20/trump-media-merger-partner-dwac-settles-with-sec-over-fraud-charges.html) since it cleared the path for the merger. With 37 million shares outstanding this represents a little less than 50 cents per share. So they might be getting back $9.50 (plus investment income minus other expenses.) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-trumps-new-social-network-i-hear-crickets/960024/552 "2023-09-04T19:40:49Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Just thinking about it give me a nice warm happy feeling. 🙂 There is no finer schadenfruede than a finance professional’s schadenfruede. Though all of this does make me wonder whether one could buy a bunch of DWAC shares and dump them during the next pump of the ongoing pump & dump. Subject of course to the risk that there is no next pump and it’s all dump from here. I would not mortgage my house to raise that money, but as a fun way to profit off others fleecing rubes, it’s probably the cleanest hands way to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-trumps-new-social-network-i-hear-crickets/960024/553 "2023-09-04T20:00:59Z")
Better analysts than you or I have almost definitely already considered this, crunched the numbers resulting in the cost benefit averaging around [$16.51](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/DWAC/history?period1=1693612800&period2=1693785600&interval=1d&filter=history&frequency=1d&includeAdjustedClose=true). The other alternative is waiting until the merger is announced and the short selling on the peak of the spike. The problem is that this involves the assumption that eventually reality will sink in and the price will crater as investors realize that they bought a worthless commodity and should get out now while they still can. However, assuming self preserving rationality among Trump investors is likely a losing proposition and you could end up in the position of the [Game Stop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GameStop_short_squeeze) shorters. So overall probably the best investment strategy is to sit on the side lines, point and laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-trumps-new-social-network-i-hear-crickets/960024/554 "2023-09-04T20:18:55Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > However, assuming self preserving rationality among Trump investors is likely a losing proposition and you could end up in the position of the [Game Stop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GameStop_short_squeeze) shorters. That’s why God invented put options. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-trumps-new-social-network-i-hear-crickets/960024/555 "2023-09-04T20:26:05Z")
Because the share count is just 37M, there’s about $550M in current market cap. The serious big boys might well not mess with pennyante stuff like this since they can’t buy a big enough tranche without moving the game against themselves. You or me betting 1, 10, or 100K is different. Yes, of course, the $16.51 price represents the current net assessment of both the smart and the stupid money. ISTM that _if_ there is to be another major news event affecting DWAC & TS, the spike will be there. And can be captured with a simple limit-up standing sell order, so you don’t need to stay glued to your Bloomberg screen all day every day. So we’re essentially taking a view on whether there’s any more favorable news or rumor of news left in the pipeline. My own situation is such that by the time I’d have bet enough money where I’d be excited about cashing in the win and it’d move my overall needle, I’ll have bet more money than I’m willing to lose if instead it craters. If DWAC has not fraudulently been siphoned dry, this stock has the interesting feature of a $10 price floor, so your losses are in a sense capped at ~40%, the difference between 16.50 and 10.00. All idle talk, I’m not serious about attaching any of my money to his wagon train, even if it was a sure thing. I don’t need dirty money. ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecc23a/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada_Jr)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-trumps-new-social-network-i-hear-crickets/960024/556 "2023-09-04T20:36:58Z")
Another fun thing about DWAC and Trump Social is that Trump actually monetized grifting his chumps. I don’t recall the exact details, and in a 5-minute search have not been able to find them, but there are or were other investors who were going to put more money into the deal. They would get the ability to buy additional stock from the company at a discount from the market price, and then turn around and immediately sell the stock to the market. The amount that they could buy would be calculated by the market price; the lower the price, the more they could buy. This sort of deal is called a “death spiral” and is not a typical feature of the financing of a healthy company. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-trumps-new-social-network-i-hear-crickets/960024/557 "2023-09-04T22:17:16Z")
Ah, thank you, @Reno_Nevada_Jr and @Buck-Godot, for the explanation. Now I understand it. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2023, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-trumps-new-social-network-i-hear-crickets/960024/558 "2023-10-19T00:30:03Z")
R.I.P. > **['Nail in the coffin' for Trump's Truth Social after nearly $200M investment...](https://www.rawstory.com/trump-truth-social-nail/)** > > Donald Trump's shell company that aimed to take his media company public to the U.S. Stock Exchange is returning donor money, Reuters reported Thursday. It means they intend to "cancel all outstanding private investment in public equity (PIPE)... ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2023, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-trumps-new-social-network-i-hear-crickets/960024/559 "2023-10-19T00:33:35Z")
You can’t make this stuff up (you can Google for the same story on many other sites): Full title: **The Biden-Harris Campaign Already Has More Followers On Truth Social Than The Trump Campaign** > **[The Biden-Harris Campaign Already Has More Followers On Truth Social Than The...](https://www.forbes.com/sites/willskipworth/2023/10/18/the-biden-harris-campaign-already-has-more-followers-on-truth-social-than-the-trump-campaign/?sh=6f99e5c8139e)** > > Truth Social even promoted Joe Biden’s campaign account in an email to users. From the article above: > The Biden-Harris campaign has already surpassed the Trump campaign in followers on Truth Social, the Donald Trump-owned social media start-up, only days after joining—though Trump’s account has exponentially more followers than both. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2023, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-trumps-new-social-network-i-hear-crickets/960024/560 "2023-10-19T00:46:52Z")
I read that they went on there to troll with dark brandon type stuff, which is kind of funny. But I still feel like they should have stayed away. That’s my opinion, what do I know? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-trumps-new-social-network-i-hear-crickets/960024.md?page=27) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-trumps-new-social-network-i-hear-crickets/960024.md?page=29)