Gettr, Social Network Launched by Trump’s Ex-Spokesman, Immediately Attracts Trump Imposters

Donald Trump may or may not be joining “Gettr,” a newly launched social app from the ex-president’s ex-spokesman. The twice-impeached Trump has been kicked off — or frozen out of — mainstream social media services over his role in the Jan. 6 assault on Capitol Hill.

But after news broke Thursday about the app’s ties to the former U.S. president, it was quickly populated with fake accounts from people trying to make it look like Trump had joined the app.

Gettr was founded by Jason Miller, who last month quit as an adviser to Trump, according to Politico, which first reported the news. According to information on Apple’s App Store, Gettr is developed by a company called Chainnov Inc., which was incorporated last summer.

At least three fake Trump accounts — ReaIDonaIdTrump, realDonaIdTrump and reaidonaidtrump — were created Thursday before the company deactivated them. Miller himself was spoofed on Gettr, before the account @jasonmiller was suspended.

And the Gettr app also has already attracted parody accounts, including @DonaldDrumpf, which links to the Wikipedia page for the Capitol attack and quotes the real Donald Trump’s secretly recorded conversation with former “Access Hollywood” host Billy Bush: “I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.”

Gettr, which looks very similar Twitter, says its mission is “fighting cancel culture, promoting common sense, defending free speech, challenging social media monopolies, and creating a true marketplace of ideas.” This is the description of Gettr (presumably pronounced “getter”) on the Apple App Store: “Gettr is a non-bias social network for people all over the world. Gettr tried the best to provide best software quality to the users, allow anyone to express their opinion freely.”

Apple’s App Store rates Gettr as suitable for users 17 and older. The app’s listing says it includes “frequent/intense” profanity or crude humor, medical/treatment information, “realistic violence” and sexual content or nudity.

Trump has been barred from mainstream social media and internet platforms, at least for now. Last month, Facebook said Trump’s accounts on its platforms will be suspended until at least January 2023 and will only be reinstated “if conditions permit.” On Jan. 7, Facebook indefinitely froze Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts with CEO Mark Zuckerberg citing the risk of ongoing violence if the then-president were allowed to remain on the services. Twitter banned Trump permanently on Jan. 8 for the same reasons, and other internet services have taken similar actions.

In the wake of Trump’s broad deplatforming, the ex-president and former TV reality-show host had launched a blog earlier this spring to share commentary before it was shut down about a month ago.