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    • Reuters exclusive: Two key tech execs quit Truth Social after troubled app launch

    Former U.S. President Donald Trump waves at supporters before speaking at a rally at the Michigan Stars Sports Center in Washington Township, Mich., Saturday, April 2, 2022. (Junfu Han/Detroit Free Press via AP) Former U.S. President Donald Trump waves at supporters before speaking at a rally at the Michigan Stars Sports Center in Washington Township, Mich., Saturday, April 2, 2022. (Junfu Han/Detroit Free Press via AP)
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    The two Southern tech entrepreneurs had the two qualities that Donald Trump鈥檚 Truth Social startup needed: tech-industry expertise and a politically conservative worldview aligned with the former president, a rare combination in the liberal-leaning industry centered in San Francisco.

    Josh Adams and Billy Boozer - the company鈥檚 chiefs of technology and product development - joined the venture last year and quickly became central players in its bid to build a social-media empire, backed by Trump鈥檚 powerful brand, to counter what many conservatives deride as 鈥渃ancel culture鈥 censorship from the left.

    Less than a year later, both have resigned their senior posts at a critical juncture for the company鈥檚 smartphone-app release plans, according to two sources familiar with the venture.

    The departures followed the troubled launch of the company鈥檚 iPhone app on Feb. 20. Weeks later, many users remain on a waiting list, unable to access the platform. Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) Chief Executive Devin Nunes, a former Republican congressman, said publicly that the company aimed to make the app fully operational within the United States by the end of March.

    The company has an app for iPhones but no app for Android phones, which comprise more than 40 per cent of the U.S. market, though the company has advertised seeking an engineer to build one.

    Boozer declined to comment and Adams did not respond to a request. Representatives for TMTG and Trump did not respond to requests for comment.

    This account is based on Reuters interviews with eight people with knowledge of Truth Social鈥檚 activities, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity.

    Truth Social is part of a growing sector of tech firms catering to conservatives and marketing themselves as free-speech champions. The platform promised to give Trump unfettered communication with the American public more than a year after he was kicked off Twitter, Facebook and YouTube for allegedly inciting or glorifying violence during the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol.

    The exit of two executives critical to the app-launch efforts could imperil the company鈥檚 progress as it tries to prove it can compete with mainstream platforms such as Twitter, said two people familiar with the company. Like Twitter, Trump鈥檚 platform offers users the chance to connect and share their thoughts.

    鈥淚f Josh has left鈥 all bets are off,鈥 one of those sources said of tech chief Adams, calling him the 鈥渂rains鈥 behind Truth Social鈥檚 technology.

    Another source familiar with the venture said that Boozer also had a major leadership role as product chief, running management across technology infrastructure, design and development teams.

    Reuters could not determine the specific circumstances behind the executives鈥 resignations, or whether they have been replaced or their duties reassigned. It also remains unclear whether Adams and Boozer still work on the venture in a different capacity after quitting their executive posts.

    Their resignations came before their key roles in the closely watched company were even publicly known outside of Truth Social鈥檚 secretive culture.

    Adams and Boozer worked at a level just below Wes Moss and Andy Litinsky, both former castmates on 鈥淭he Apprentice,鈥 Trump鈥檚 hit reality TV show, according to a source familiar with the venture.

    Moss and Litinsky have been the 鈥渟enior, day-to-day leadership鈥 running the company since it started last summer, the source said. The two men had pitched Trump on the social-media venture in January of 2021, according to a person familiar with the company鈥檚 founding.

    Reuters could not determine the specific job titles or responsibilities of Moss and Litinsky, neither of whom responded to requests for comment. TMTG has released little information about its executive leadership team outside of CEO Nunes, who joined in December.

    Another open question is how TMTG is funding its current growth. The company is planning to go public through a merger with blank-check firm Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC) DWACU.O. The deal is under scrutiny by the Securities and Exchange Commission and is likely months away from being finalized.

    DWAC disclosed in a regulatory filing last December that the SEC was probing the deal. The SEC has not addressed the nature of the inquiry and did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday.

    Investors have pledged US$1 billion to TMTG but they won鈥檛 hand over that money until the DWAC deal closes.

    DWAC shares fell 13 per cent after market opening Monday on a day when TwitterTWTR.Nsaw its shares surge 25 per cent after an investment by Telsa Chief Executive Elon Musk.

    Trump鈥檚 level of involvement with his namesake company and the Truth Social platform also remains unclear. The former president so far has written only one post - or 鈥渢ruth鈥 - on the platform, writing on Feb. 14: 鈥淕et Ready! Your favorite President will see you soon!鈥

    Downloads of the Truth Social app have declined precipitously, from 866,000 installations the week of its launch to 60,000 the week of March 14, according to estimates from data analytics firm Sensor Tower. The firm estimates the Truth Social app has been downloaded 1.2 million times in all, trailing far behind rival conservative apps Parler and Gettr at 11.3 million and 6.8 million installations, respectively.

    TARGETING BIG TECH

    When they joined the company last year, Adams and Boozer embraced the vision for a social-media company with an 鈥渁nti-cancel culture鈥 mission, according to one of the sources familiar with the venture. The executives believed deeply in creating an 鈥渙pen platform, where as long as you don鈥檛 say anything that is criminal,鈥 the person said, 鈥測ou can be entitled to your own opinion.鈥

    Reuters could not determine the exact date the two executives joined the firm, but they were working on the Truth Social app by the fall, according to two sources familiar with the venture.

    As the company sought engineers that had both the requisite skills and compatible politics, Adams and Boozer fit the bill, another person familiar with the company said. To gauge whether potential recruits were a good fit, hiring managers explored candidates鈥 political ideology, in at least one case by scanning their social media profiles and listening to their appearances on podcasts, that person said.

    The company鈥檚 political bent limited its hiring pool. At least one candidate rebuffed a recruitment overture, saying he couldn鈥檛 stomach working for Trump, the person familiar with the company said. Others who rejected the company's outreach said they were concerned about job security and feared the company and its employees might be prime targets for hackers, according to two people with knowledge of the firm's recruiting efforts.

    Adams joined Trump鈥檚 company after building a career as a software developer from his native Alabama. He co-founded Daring Bit Assembly, a product and software development consultancy whose clients have included the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and e-commerce startup Shipt, according to Daring Bit Assembly鈥檚 website.

    Adams is a 鈥渃onstitutionalist鈥 who believes in strict interpretation of the authors鈥 original intent for the foundational U.S. document, said one of the people familiar with company operations. In May 2021, Adams filed a lawsuit in federal court in Alabama against the state鈥檚 governor, a Republican, and its health officer, alleging that the state鈥檚 mask mandate during the coronavirus pandemic violated the U.S. and Alabama Constitutions. The case was dismissed in June 2021.

    Boozer, also a political conservative who previously lived in Alabama, had collaborated frequently with Adams before joining Truth Social, according to the source. With Adams in place to steer the back-end infrastructure of the app, Boozer brought a strong command of the front-end technology that touches users, according to that source.

    The pair kept a low profile despite holding high-ranking positions at the closely watched venture.

    Neither Adams nor Boozer disclosed their work at Truth Social on their LinkedIn profiles, which list numerous other jobs and ventures from their past. The company did not publicly announce their hiring.

    Adams鈥 and Boozer鈥檚 roles were listed in a November investor presentation as the TMTG technology team鈥檚 chief technology officer and chief product officer - but without their last names. When Truth Social launched, they posted frequently on the platform, but again presenting themselves to the public only as 鈥淛osh A.鈥 and 鈥淏illy B.鈥

    (Reporting by Helen Coster and Julia Love; additional reporting by Krystal Hu and Echo Wang in New York; editing by Kenneth Li and Brian Thevenot)

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