The head of engineering for the company that operates former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Truth Social app told Reuters on Monday he had resigned, in a blow for the venture.
Alex Gleason’s departure comes amid a period of prolonged uncertainty for Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), which launched Truth Social as a way for Trump to connect with his base after he was cut off from major social media platforms after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his followers.
The fledgling media company seeks to merge with Digital World Acquisition, although the deal has floundered almost from the day it was announced in October 2021. The SPAC announced recently it had reached a tentative $18 million settlement with the SEC, which has been investigating the companies for allegedly conducting merger talks prior to Digital World’s IPO. Such discussions would be illegal.
Gleason is the founder of Soapbox Technology, which provides open-source technology for “decentralized” social media platforms that operate on independently-run servers and provide an alternative to Twitter and Facebook.
Gleason said in an interview that he is leaving TMTG to work on Soapbox full-time, developing technology for connecting multiple decentralized platforms.
TMTG hired Gleason in January 2022 to adapt Soapbox’s technology for its own needs, eventually using it as the front-end technology – which users see and interact with – for the Truth Social app. Read more.
