"Censorship-free" Truth Social bans new user for jokey handle

Palm Beach, Florida - Well, it turns out Donald Trump's latest brainchild, Truth Social, is not free of censorship, much like we predicted would be the case after the shoddy launch on President's Day.

Maybe don't hold your breath on Truth Social delivering on any claims about free speech.
Maybe don't hold your breath on Truth Social delivering on any claims about free speech.  © IMAGO / NurPhoto

Even though the app had a buggy and flawed launch, and waitlisted hundreds of thousands of new users, its team has already booted a one user off Trump's social media platform.

His offense? Dubbing his fresh Truth Social account as @DevinNunesCow, which can be read as poking fun at Trump Media & Technology Group CEO Devin Nunes.

Originally, the entire point of making Truth Social was supposedly to escape "the tyranny of Big Tech" from social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, but the new kid on the block has already shown its true colors.

Matt Ortega, former Clinton staffer and "internet trickster", tweeted a screenshot of Truth Social's banhammer strike against his newly-created account.

He also claims the ban came through without any posting activity or using the app for anything beyond creating an account.

Ortega stated, "I created the account last night and it was "wait listed." Today, I got the email that it was banned. I never got to log in."

However, the move already puts Truth Social at odds with its own Terms of Service, which say that bans can hit accounts that masquerade as prominent figures, unless the accounts are parody.

Plus, the moderation team, which still relies on a few volunteers, according to Gizmodo, likely won't be able to dish out bans for every violation as new users join the platform.

Now let's see if any more of the waitlisted users with parody accounts will actually get to use the platform, or just get smashed with a permanent account ban.

Cover photo: IMAGO / NurPhoto

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