Two American media organizations – The Intercept and Freedom of the Press Foundation – have filed a lawsuit against US President Donald Trump over the decision of the social network Truth Social to sell access to his posts before their publication. They announced this on Wednesday, August 12.
The plaintiffs believe this violates the public's and journalists' right to equal access to official information and allows Trump to personally profit from presidential messages. This raises suspicions of a conflict of interest – the court will make the final decision.
How the scheme works
Starting August 1, 2026, Trump's company launched a paid Truth API interface, access to which costs $100,000 per month, or $60,000 with a three-year subscription. This channel provides subscribers with access to messages from the president and other top officials of the US administration before they appear to the public.
In fact, Trump is attempting to monetize access to his own statements through a company he owns.
The US president's account @realDonaldTrump has approximately 12.9 million followers, making it the largest on the platform. Trump uses it to announce official state decisions about military operations, appointments and dismissals of department heads, implementation of tariffs and other domestic and foreign policy measures.
What is the conflict
The plaintiffs believe this scheme is corrupt and unconstitutional. The lawsuit contains four main accusations:
- government officials cannot receive financial interest from performing state duties;
- selling access to a public page violates equality rules;
- obtaining publicly important state information is effectively tied to a requirement to finance the president's private business;
- the scheme discriminates against journalists and citizens based on their ability to pay.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare this practice illegal and prohibit Trump and his administration from publishing official state information exclusively on Truth Social while a paid priority access system is in place.
Under the contract with the company, Trump is required to first publish his posts on Truth Social and not duplicate them on other platforms for at least six hours, according to the lawsuit.
Why this matters for markets
Trump has made numerous statements through his Truth Social account that have shaken global markets, including his "tariffs for Liberation Day" and publications about trade restrictions on China, making this platform the most important source of information for traders, businesses and financial institutions.
On April 9, 2025, major Wall Street indices rose sharply after Trump announced on Truth Social that he would suspend many new tariffs for 90 days.
A six-hour head start for paid subscribers before publication to the public is essentially an opportunity to trade ahead of a market that responds to the president's words immediately. The question the court must now decide: is market-significant state information a private commodity if its source is the US president.
