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Donald Trump’s Social-Media Company Is in Big Trouble

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Donald Trump wanted to disrupt the hegemony of the Silicon Valley giants. Things don’t seem to be going the way the former president wanted.

Donald Trump has never hidden his objective in launching Truth Social: to disrupt the hegemony of the giants of Silicon Valley.

The former president did not take well to what appeared to be a humiliation: He was ejected from the major social-media platforms that influence opinions and trends in public life.

One day after the events of Jan. 6, 2021 — when his supporters stormed the Congress in Washington — Facebook  (META) – Get Meta Platforms Inc. Report, YouTube  (GOOGL) – Get Alphabet Inc. Report and Twitter  (TWTR) – Get Twitter Inc. Report, the three main social networks in the U.S., banned him

The real estate developer, who has millions of loyal supporters and fans, then promised to launch his own social network as a place of free expression for conservatives and to continue to build the Trump brand.

When the platform launched in February, Truth Social drew flurry of downloads on Apple’s  (AAPL) – Get Apple Inc. Report iOS app. It was rolled out to all U.S. iOS users in May. But the euphoria seems to have died down.

Not on Google Play

Truth Social has not yet been launched on Google’s Android operating system, which runs the vast majority of smartphones. That’s because Google says it violates its content moderation policy like physical threats and incitement to violence.

“On Aug. 19 we notified Truth Social of several violations of standard policies,” Google told the BBC. “Having effective systems for moderating user-generated content is a condition of our terms of service for any app to go live on Google Play,” the company added.

For its part, Trump Media & Technology Group, founded by the former president and the parent of Truth Social, said in a news release that “TMTG has continuously worked in good faith with Google to ensure that the Truth Social Android App complies with Google’s policies without compromising our promise to be a haven for free speech,

“As our users know, Truth Social is building a vibrant, family-friendly environment that works expeditiously to remove content that violates its Terms of Service – which independent observers have noted are among the most robust in the industry.”

“By contrast TMTG notes that this viral, four-year-old tweet threatening nuclear war on law-abiding citizens remains up on Twitter for Android without consequence,” the company added.

Google didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from TheStreet.

Zero Revenue

Digital World Acquisition (DWAC) , the blank-check company that is supposed to merge with TMTG, is also in a fragile financial situation.

The firm reported a net loss of $6.2 million for the 2022 first half due to general and administrative costs, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. This loss was five times the year-earlier loss of $1.2 million.

The company is burning cash: It had $3 million on hand at the end of the period compared with $24.3 million at the end of first-half 2021. And in 2022 through the close of Wednesday trading, the shares were down 53%.

DWAC does not currently generate any revenue. But what is more worrying is that the firm must raise fresh money.

“We believe we will need to raise additional funds in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business,” the firm said.

“Additionally, if our estimate of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our business combination.”

Basically, DWAC says it may not have enough cash to continue operating before it closes its merger with TMTG.

“Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon consummation of our business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination.”

Legal Headaches

DWAC is also facing two SEC investigations looking at whether the company improperly negotiated with Truth Social before its IPO in 2021. The regulator issued subpoenas to the company and to TMTG, according to the SEC filing.

The firm said it’s “cooperating with an SEC investigation, including responding to several document requests and subpoenas from the SEC to us and certain of our directors seeking various documents and information regarding, among other things, meetings of our Board of Directors; communications with and the evaluation of potential targets, including TMTG; communications relating to TMTG; agreements with and payments made to certain advisors.”

Finally, Truth Social owes $1.6 million to one of its vendors, RightForge, an internet infrastructure company for conservatives, sources told Axios.

One of the sources told the news outlet that if Truth Social fails to come up with the cash to pay back RightForge, the dispute could move to arbitration.

Culled from The Street (By Luc Olinga)

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Body of O.J. Simpson to be cremated this week; brain will not be studied for CTE

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April 15 (UPI) — The body of O.J. Simpson, who died last week at the age of 76, is to be cremated, a lawyer representing the ex-football superstar’s estate said, adding his brain will not be donated for research.

Malcolm LaVergne, Simpson’s longtime attorney and executor, told the New York Post that his client’s body is to be cremated Tuesday in Las Vegas.

He said Simpson’s family also gave a “hard no” to scientists seeking to examine the former running back’s brain for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is better known as CTE.

CTE is a rare and little understood brain disorder that is likely caused by repeated blows to the head. According to the Mayo Clinic, CTE results in the death of nerve cells in the brain and the only way to definitively diagnose it is with an autopsy of the organ after death.

Memory and thinking problems, confusion, personality changes and erratic behavior, including aggression, depression and suicidal ideation, are among CTE’s symptoms, the Alzheimer’s Association said.

The disease has been found in those who play contact sports, including football and hockey.

LaVergne confirmed to NBC News on Sunday that at least one person has called seeking Simpson’s brain.

“His entire body, including his brain, will be cremated,” he said.

Simpson died Wednesday following a battle with cancer.

Known by the nickname “The Juice,” Simpson was a NFL superstar during the 1970s, which made him a household name that propelled him into film and television during the next decade.

But his stardom would come crashing down in the mid-1990s when he was accused of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.

His high-profile trial lasted months, but ended with his acquittal.

In 2008, he was found guilty on a dozen charges, including kidnapping and armed robbery, and was paroled in 2017 after serving nine years of his 33-year sentence.

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Africa

Donors raise more than 2 billion euros for Sudan aid a year into war

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PARIS/CAIRO, April 15 (Reuters) – Donors pledged more than 2 billion euros ($2.13 billion) for war-torn Sudan at a conference in Paris on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron said, on the first anniversary of what aid workers describe as a neglected but devastating conflict.
Efforts to help millions of people driven to the verge of famine by the war have been held up by continued fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), restrictions imposed by the warring sides, and demands on donors from other global crises including in Gaza and Ukraine.
Conflict in Sudan is threatening to expand, with fighting heating up in and around al-Fashir, a besieged aid hub and the last city in the western Darfur region not taken over by the RSF. Hundreds of thousands of displaced people have sought refuge in the area.
“The world is busy with other countries,” Bashir Awad, a resident of Omdurman, part of the wider capital and a key battleground, told Reuters last week. “We had to help ourselves, share food with each other, and depend on God.”
In Paris, the EU pledged 350 million euros, while France and Germany, the co-sponsors, committed 110 million euros and 244 million euros respectively. The United States pledged $147 million and Britain $110 million.
Speaking at the end of the conference, which included Sudanese civilian actors, Macron emphasized the need to coordinate overlapping and so far unsuccessful international efforts to resolve the conflict and to stop foreign support for the warring parties.
“Unfortunately the amount that we mobilised today is still probably less than was mobilised by several powers since the start of the war to help one or the other side kill each other,” he said.
As regional powers compete for influence in Sudan, U.N. experts say allegations that the United Arab Emirates helped arm the RSF are credible, while sources say the army has received weapons from Iran. Both sides have rejected the reports.
The war, which broke out between the Sudanese army and the RSF as they vied for power ahead of a planned transition, has crippled infrastructure, displaced more than 8.5 million people, and cut many off from food supplies and basic services.
“We can manage together to avoid a terrible famine catastrophe, but only if we get active together now,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, adding that, in the worst-case scenario, 1 million people could die of hunger this year.
The United Nations is seeking $2.7 billion this year for aid inside Sudan, where 25 million people need assistance, an appeal that was just 6% funded before the Paris meeting. It is seeking another $1.4 billion for assistance in neighbouring countries that have housed hundreds of thousands of refugees.
The international aid effort faces obstacles to gaining access on the ground.
The army has said it would not allow aid into the wide swathes of the country controlled by its foes from the RSF. Aid agencies have accused the RSF of looting aid. Both sides have denied holding up relief.
“I hope the money raised today is translated into aid that reaches people in need,” said Abdullah Al Rabeeah, head of Saudi Arabia’s KSRelief.
On Friday, Sudan’s army-aligned foreign ministry protested that it had not been invited to the conference. “We must remind the organisers that the international guardianship system has been abolished for decades,” it said in a statement.

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Africa

SA users of Starlink will be cut off at the end of the month

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Starlink users in South Africa are facing a major setback as the satellite internet service provider has issued a warning that their services will be terminated by the end of the month.

In an email sent to many South African users, Starlink stated that their internet access will cease on April 30 due to violation of its terms and conditions.

The email emphasized that using Starlink kits outside of designated areas, as indicated on the Starlink Availability Map, is against their terms. Consequently, users will only be able to access their Starlink account for updates after the termination.

Starlink, a company owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, operates a fleet of low earth orbit satellites that offer high-speed internet globally. Despite its potential to revolutionize connectivity, Starlink has been unable to obtain a license to operate in South Africa from the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa).

Icasa’s requirements mandate that any applicant must have 30% ownership from historically disadvantaged groups to be considered for a license. However, many in South Africa resorted to creative methods to access Starlink services, including purchasing roaming packages from countries where Starlink is licensed.

However, Icasa clarified in a government gazette last November that using Starlink in this manner is illegal. Additionally, Starlink itself stated in the recent email to users that the ‘Mobile – Regional’ plans are meant for temporary travel and transit, not permanent use in a location. Continuous use of these plans outside the country where service was ordered will result in service restriction.

Starlink advised those interested in making its services available in their region to contact local authorities.

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