Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has joined Truth Social, the social media platform owned by former US President Donald Trump, making him one of the few world leaders to do so. In his first post on Monday, Modi shared a photo with Trump taken in Houston, Texas, during his 2019 US visit and expressed his delight at being on the platform.

Trump launched Truth Social in February 2022 after losing the presidential election to Joe Biden and being temporarily banned from major social networks like Twitter and Facebook, which accused him of inciting violence. Modi currently has 21,500 followers on the platform and is following Trump and US Vice President JD Vance.

On Monday, Trump shared a link to an interview Modi did with podcaster Lex Fridman, where the Indian prime minister discussed various topics such as his life journey, the Gujarat riots of 2002, and India’s relationship with China.

Truth Social’s functionality is similar to X, formerly Twitter, allowing users to post “truths” or “retruths” and send direct messages. Adverts on the platform are called “sponsored truths.” Truth Social is owned by Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), with Trump taking the company public in March 2024 and currently owning about 57% shares. Other significant stakes are held by Kuwaiti-headquartered investment firm ARC Global Investments and some former Apprentice contestants, although these holdings are currently subject to legal disputes.

Despite having over 9 million followers on Truth Social, Trump’s presence on the platform itself still trails his following on X by a significant margin of 87 million. Additionally, traffic on Truth Social remains minimal compared to its competitors, with user numbers trailing X by 400 times. In 2024, TMTG reported losses of $400 million (£308 million) and revenue of $3.6 million, with a market valuation of $4.45 billion.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g9jgg1evlo