Trump Sued Over Plan to Sell Early Access to Truth Social Posts

President Donald Trump was sued Wednesday by The Intercept Media and the nonprofit Freedom of the Press Foundation over a plan by the parent company of his Truth Social platform to charge customers for faster access to his posts. The groups are asking a federal court to stop the program, describing the arrangement as “extraordinary, corrupt and unconstitutional.”

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Southern District of New York, argues that Trump could personally benefit from providing paying customers with early access to government information that can influence financial markets. The plaintiffs contend that the arrangement improperly gives select users access to information that should be equally available to journalists and the broader public.

Trump Media & Technology Group announced in July that it was launching Truth API, a subscription data service offering early access to Trump’s most influential Truth Social posts. The company said the service was intended for organizations particularly affected by delays in receiving information, with subscriptions priced at as much as $100,000 per month.

The Intercept said the lawsuit is intended to challenge what it considers a violation of First Amendment protections for journalists and other members of the public. Ben Muessig, editor-in-chief of The Intercept, said Trump is “trying to enrich himself by privatizing government information that he has no right to sell. We won’t let it stand.”

More than 10 companies had agreed to use Truth API as of Monday, according to Trump Media CEO Kevin McGurn. During the company’s earnings call, McGurn said subscribers were generally paying between $60,000 and $100,000 per month. He did not identify the companies, but said Trump Media was also negotiating with major news organizations and developers of large language models.

Trump has frequently used Truth Social to make major announcements, including selections for senior administration positions, military strikes in Iran and new tariff policies. His posts concerning the Iran conflict have recently influenced markets and oil prices, with effects on inflation.

Trump Media had also considered separating Truth Social into its own company but abandoned that plan in June following what it described as “further evaluation.” The company’s shares fell to a two-week low Monday after it reported a quarterly loss of $238.1 million. More than $190 million of that loss was attributed to unrealized losses involving digital assets and equity securities.