Information from the President for those who pay: the new lawsuit against Trump
A new service from the company that operates Truth Social offers paying customers fast access to posts by Donald Trump and other senior government officials. A lawsuit filed in New York claims that the president is effectively selling privileged access to information created in his official capacity - and may be profiting personally from it.
Donald Trump is accustomed to posting messages on Truth Social that shake headlines - and sometimes markets as well. But now it turns out that those willing to pay a significant sum can receive them faster than the general public. This new service, which charges up to $100,000 per month, is now at the center of a lawsuit against the President of the USA.
The lawsuit was filed in the federal court for the Southern District of New York by the website The Intercept and the Freedom of the Press Foundation, against Donald Trump, two of his aides, and the Office of the President. At its center is Truth API, a paid information service launched on August 1 by Trump Media & Technology Group, the company that operates Truth Social.
According to the plaintiffs, this is an "extraordinary, corrupt, and unconstitutional" arrangement, under which privileged access to information published by the president in his official capacity is effectively being sold.
$100,000 a month to be first
Truth API grants subscribers faster access than the general public to posts from ten of the most prominent accounts on the platform. The list includes the account of Donald Trump, alongside Vice President J.D. Vance, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, and other senior officials.
The price is accordingly: $100,000 per month, or $60,000 per month for those who commit to three years.
Speed in this case is not just a matter of convenience. Donald Trump has previously used Truth Social to publish information with the potential to influence markets, including on issues of tariffs and the war with Iran. Such publications have already led to fluctuations in stock and oil prices, so a time advantage in accessing information can be significant for trading and financial entities.
Even the company itself does not hide this angle. The interim CEO of Trump Media, Kevin McGovern, promoted the service as a tool that allows businesses to quickly gain access to posts "with the greatest impact on the market." He also defined Truth API as a high-margin product that is supposed to become a significant and ongoing source of revenue.
When the president is also the largest shareholder
The service raised questions even before it reached the court. Democratic Senators Adam Schiff and Elizabeth Warren turned to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and asked it to investigate whether providing faster access to posts to certain entities could constitute market manipulation and grant an advantage to insiders at the expense of ordinary investors.
According to the complaint, on August 10, Trump Media revealed that the service already has more than ten subscribers, including, according to reports, financial news outlets and high-frequency trading firms. The company is also exploring the possibility of granting licenses to use the information for prediction markets, and at the same time is working to block third-party tools that allow external entities to collect and save the posts of Donald Trump.
Here, the president's personal economic interest also comes into the picture. According to the lawsuit, Donald Trump remains the largest shareholder in Trump Media, with a holding worth about a billion dollars. The plaintiffs argue that in such a situation, he may personally profit from the sale of privileged access to information created in the course of his activities as president.
The lawsuit also has a less immediate, but significant aspect: historical documentation. Truth API subscribers get access to a post archive that goes back to 2022, including posts that were deleted or changed later. At the same time, McGovern said that the company intends to "create a lot of friction" for those who do not receive the information directly from it.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the arrangement illegal and to prevent the administration from using Truth Social as the exclusive channel for official publications as long as the company is simultaneously selling privileged access to the same information. In other words, the question now facing the court is not just who sees Donald Trump's post first - but whether a president can turn the speed at which the public receives his words into a product that costs $100,000 a month.
