Why Trump Media's sale of fast access to market-moving social posts is controversial
Trump Media & Technology Group is launching a paid 'Truth API' service to provide high-frequency traders with millisecond-fast access to influential posts on Truth Social. The move has raised ethical questions about profiting from presidential statements and the potential for market manipulation.
Why it matters
It raises significant concerns regarding market fairness and the ethics of a company owned by a political figure monetizing his own public influence.
Figure caption, Why is Trump Media selling early access to Trump's Truth Social posts?
When Donald Trump speaks, financial traders are among the keenest listeners.
From trade wars to military wars, anything the US president says can shift markets, and so teams of traders - as well as a host of automated computer systems - monitor his statements to perform trades within seconds.
Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) now wants to charge for such market-moving information put out on its Truth Social platform. It has launched a paid service to give Wall Street firms and institutional investors the "fastest access" to the social media site's most influential accounts.
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