Trump is being sued for charging for early access to his posts, which could influence the markets

Two journalism organizations have filed a lawsuit against U.S. President Donald Trump over his new social media platform, Truth Social, which charges subscribers up to $100,000 a month for early access to his posts that could “move the markets.” The lawsuit alleges that this scheme to trade in government information is “deeply corrupt” and illegal.

The non-profit journalism organizations The Intercept Media and the Freedom of the Press Foundation allege in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan that Trump “may derive financial benefit by providing government information capable of moving the markets to those who are willing and able to pay his private company.”

"President Donald Trump charges $100,000 a month for early access to his official government statements on Truth Social—the social media platform he owns—according to The Intercept Media and the Freedom of the Press Foundation. — “This scheme is extraordinary, corrupt, and unconstitutional, and the plaintiffs have filed this lawsuit to stop it.”

In their lawsuit against Trump, the organizations called the Truth API service—which provides quick access to Trump’s posts—“an illegal scheme” that violates the First and Fifth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. “There is no legitimate government purpose—let alone a substantial government interest—that could justify President Trump profiting from the sale of government information,” the lawsuit states.

The White House did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment on the lawsuit.

Last month, Trump Media & Technology Group announced the launch of the Truth API service on August 1, describing it as a data feed for corporate clients that will provide faster access to posts from Truth Social’s largest accounts, including Trump’s account with 13 million followers. This method of obtaining information allows traders and automated trading systems to react more quickly to Trump’s market-moving posts.

The new service has attracted more than 10 clients—“primarily companies engaged in high-frequency trading,” said Kevin McGurn, interim head of Trump Media, during a conference call following the release of the quarterly earnings report on August 10. According to him, the cost of access for these clients ranged from $60,000 to $100,000 per month. “We are also actively in talks with hyperscalers, some major news organizations, and developers of large language models, and we are evaluating opportunities to license data for forecasting markets,” McGern said.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor