Trump Media & Technology, the company behind the Truth Social platform, posted a massive loss of $238 million in the second quarter. The loss was more than 10 times the loss from a year earlier, with the per-share loss widening to 86 cents from 8 cents.

New Turnaround Effort

The company has announced plans to ditch new business lines and refocus as a forum for users to post their views. The new chief executive, Kevin McGurn, said a yearlong effort to expand by branching into several new industries, including online betting and crypto, would now be largely abandoned as he refocuses the business on its social media mission.

Key to McGurn’s plan is a service called Truth API, which offers early access to Wall Street trading firms to top posters on the Truth Social platform. This includes President Donald Trump, who often moves markets by breaking major U.S policy shifts on the site.

Trump Media has been attacked by good government watchdogs from the start of Trump’s second term as a vehicle for him to profit off the presidency. The new service has only heightened those concerns, with Democrats vowing to investigate the paid service if they get control of Congress in the midterms.

McGurn has dismissed such concerns, noting that other companies sell special, fast access to traders. The new Truth API service is charging $60,000 to $100,000 a month, with Trump Media already signing up 10 customers, mostly high-frequency trading firms.

Original reporting: Dallas TX News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.