After the Trump Media IPO, the company’s stock price flagged, but Truth Social users remain supportive (and organized against short sellers).
TLDR
- Truth Social’s parent company, the Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG), went public on the U.S. stock market at the end of March. Since then, the stock price has been volatile.
- Since Truth Social launched in February 2022, users have always shown an interest in stock associated with the company.
- Truth Social users have had a largely positive reaction to the TMTG IPO, with many tying support for TMTG to support for Trump.
- Many Truth Social users have expressed solidarity with TMTG in the face of short selling, sharing information on how users can contact their brokers to ensure their shares aren’t being lent out.
Background
At the end of March 2024, the Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) went public on the U.S. stock exchange via the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC). TMTG, listed under the ticker DJT, is the parent company of Truth Social, a Twitter-esque microblogging site that markets itself as a “big tent” social media platform with a focus on free speech. Since its IPO, the company’s stock has experienced price volatility.
Part of this volatility has been attributed to sellers shorting the stock, indicating that they currently believe it to be overvalued.1 Truth Social CEO and former Congressman Devin Nunes has alleged that at least part of this shorting activity is the result of a practice called “naked shorting,” a banned form of stock manipulation. Nunes has called on congressional Republicans to investigate the matter.2
Analysis
Open Measures researchers used a long query to examine Truth Social users’ interest in TMTG stock. This query looked at mentions of “TMTG” and mentions of “DWAC.” It also considered mentions of “DJT” when it appeared in posts along other stock-related words such as “shareholder”—this was done in an effort to filter out posts solely about the former President (who is sometimes referred to as DJT) and not about the TMTG stock. Re-truths, similar to retweets, were also filtered out to ensure only original content was considered.
((content_cleaned:”tmtg” OR content_cleaned: “dwac”) OR (content_cleaned: “DJT” AND (content_cleaned: “stock” OR content_cleaned:”short” OR content_cleaned: “nasdaq” OR content_cleaned: “shareholder”))) AND NOT content_cleaned: “RT”
The results of this query show that Truth Social’s users have demonstrated a relatively sustained interest in TMTG stock since the platform’s launch in February 2022.3
Since the Trump Media IPO on March 2024, the reactions on Truth Social have been largely positive. Posts have consisted of users telling one another about the stock and using it, at times, as a pro-Trump rallying call.
On Apr. 4, 2024, user “45MAGA2022” posted [sic]:
Does @realDonaldTrump have your support in the upcoming election? You are the heart & soul of our #MAGA movement. Please encourage friends, family & American Patriots like you to join us on the front lines in our noble quest to save this free speech platform. Buy 1 single share of #DJT stock & plan to do nothing with it until #Trump2024 🇺🇸 or invest buying plenty of shares while still available at this low price. We need everyone to get involved, everyone to help, every patriot on board🇺🇸
On Apr. 11, 2024, user “sarasota” posted [sic]:
I am asking All Trump Supporters to buy 1 stock DJT on Monday April 15Th! Let’s show President Trump our support!
On Apr. 16, 2024, “truthssayer” posted [sic]:
Its time to TRIPLE DOWN on DJT stock, as Trump our only truth President would never let his ownership stake slip to a ‘MINORITY’ investor holding. He is in it for the long haul. AS DJT STOCK GOES SO GOES THE DONALD!!!
Community members have also expressed frustration about short sellers, at times suggesting that TMTG shareholders should “fight back.” Users also shared information (first published by TMTG on their own website) about how to contact one’s stockbroker to ensure that one’s shares weren’t being lent out and thus facilitating those selling the stock short.4
On Apr. 24, 2024, user “chadnedohin” posted [sic]:
We are not helpless! We have a ton of ways to help TMTG fight back! We’ll convert the #DJTfam into a #DJTARMY! […] 🟢#DontLendDJT (make sure your shares aren’t lent out.)https://s3.amazonaws.com/sec.irpass.cc/2660/0001140361-24-020401.pdf🟢 DRS (Direct Registration for those wanting to hold long term)https://odysseytrust.com 🟢 Call and Letter Campaign to Congress based on this morning’s TMTG letter to Congress. https://s3.amazonaws.com/sec.irpass.cc/2660/0001140361-24-021595.htm
TMTG’s stock price was relatively low throughout April and hit its lowest price on Apr. 16, 2024, but throughout the month, users largely expressed their continued support.
On Apr. 12, 2024, user “Ziggy1964” posted [sic]:
Not only am I not selling DJT, every day I wake up and see that the stock is down, I buy a bit more. Today I bought 35 more shares. Stay strong, stay positive and God Bless! We know that in the end, God wins.
Also from Apr. 12, 2024, user “josephschmoseph” posted [sic]:
Guys, we gotta keep pumping up the DJT stock. Please give everything you have to get the stock price up. We’re owning a piece of history! We can’t let the MSM tell us we’re losers for buying this stock. TO THE MOON!!
On Apr. 15, 2024, user “dj1985__” posted [sic]:
Okay starting to get a little nervouse here. But my faith is still strong. Managed to sell some plasma over the weekend and buy in a few more shares. Anybody else stilling hanging tuff? Who’s got the stones to buy this latest discount pricing? #djt #DJTStock #buythedip #allin #faith #asspucker #dwac #Dwacfam
Conclusion
Overall, and despite the stock’s price volatility, many Truth Social users have voiced enthusiastic support for both TMTG and Trump himself and continue to do so. Additionally, users have encouraged one another to purchase and support TMTG stock, discouraged short selling and discussed and shared strategies to stabilize its price. Whatever long-term effect Truth Social’s user activity will have on TMTG’s price volatility remains to be seen and may merit further research.
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- Forbes. (2024, May 2). Truth social wants wall street to stop shorting its stock- here’s why its attack probably won’t work. YouTube. ↩︎
- Zhan, Y. (2024, April 24). Trump media has gotten Congress involved in its crusade against short sellers. Business Insider. https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/trump-media-spac-djt-ceo-letter-congress-naked-short-sellers-2024-4 ↩︎
- Love, J., & Coster, H. (2022, February 20). Exclusive: Trump’s Truth Social App set for release Monday in Apple App Store, per executive | Reuters. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exclusive-trumps-truth-social-app-set-release-monday-apple-app-store-per-2022-02-20/ ↩︎
- FAQs. Trump Media & Technology Group. IR. (2024). https://ir.tmtgcorp.com/faq/ ↩︎