It took only some hours for pranksters to seek out and deface a take a look at model of former President Trump’s yet-to-launch social media platform referred to as TRUTH Social. According to The Washington Post, somebody signed up for an account on the take a look at web site, took the username “donaldjtrump” and posted a photograph of a defecating pig. 

Trump and his group lately introduced that they are launching TRUTH Social in early 2022 and that beta checks will start in November. In its announcement, the group mentioned that the platform is a part of its efforts to battle in opposition to “the Big Tech companies of Silicon Valley, which have used their unilateral power to silence opposing voices in America.”

The take a look at web site has already been pulled down, however not earlier than one of many publication’s reporters was in a position to enroll underneath the identify “mikepence” with out encountering any safeguards that will stop them from doing so. Based on the mock photographs on its App Store listing, TRUTH Social seems to be like a Twitter clone, the place customers can submit “Truths”much like tweets and repost “Re-Truths,” that are principally retweets. It has a information feed referred to as the Truth Feed and a notification system, as properly.

The web site’s code reveals that it runs on a principally unmodified model of open supply software program Mastodon, The Post says. Mastodon founder Eugen Rochko advised Vice that the platform could be violating its licensing guidelines, because it requires builders to share any modification with the general public and to offer credit score by linking to the unique supply code. The take a look at web site did not simply reveal TRUTH Social’s code, although, but in addition its terms of service. A sub-section within the ToS reveals that the web site hopes to be protected by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

Part of the ToS reads: “[W]e are not responsible for any Third-Party Websites accessed through the Site or any Third-Party Content posted on, available through, or installed from the Site, including the content, accuracy, offensiveness, opinions, reliability, privacy practices, or other policies of or contained in the Third-Party Websites or the Third-Party Content.”

Trump has been a really vocal critic of Section 230. In 2020, he signed an government order meant to restrict its scope shortly after Twitter fact-checked a false tweet he made. The order was by no means meaningfully imposed, however President Biden revoked it fully again in May.