Trump's new social media app begins slow rollout

Donald Trump's new social media app started a gradual rollout and should be "fully operational" by late March, potentially raising the former president's profile more than a year after he was banned by major platforms.

"This week, we will begin to roll out to people on the Apple App store," said Devin Nunes, CEO of the Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), parent company of the new app Truth Social.

"I think, by the end of March, we're going to be fully operational -- at least within the United States," added Nunes, who resigned from the US House to lead the Trump group.

Trump has described Truth Social as an alternative to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, all of which banned him following the assault on the US Capitol by his supporters on January 6, 2021.

The former president has been accused of inciting his followers to use force in a bid to overturn the result of the 2020 election.

The App Store was allowing visitors to pre-order Truth Social starting Monday, the Presidents Day holiday in the United States.

The app was reported as available to some of those who had pre-ordered.

"It's actually very moving for me to see people that are on the platform that have had their voice cancelled," Nunes said.

"We want (customers) to tell us what they would like to have on the platform, which is the opposite of some Silicon Valley tech oligarch freak telling people what they want to think and deciding who can or cannot be on the platform," he said.

Trump and his wife Melania Trump also plan to offer for sale 10,000 NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, illustrating key moments in the Trump presidency. NFTs are certified digital images that can be bought and sold.