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Several months after it first launched, Donald Trump's social media app Truth Social is now available on the Google Play Store.
On October 12, Google officially approved the conservative-leaning app, set up by the former president after he was banned from Twitter, for its online store.
Truth Social originally was only downloadable via the Apple app store after its launch in February, and for months was not available on Android.
A number of technical issues also hit the platform after its launch, including long waiting lists for those wanting to sign up and the lack of a functional website where users can post their "truths"—the app's equivalent of a tweet.
After Google confirmed the app can now be distributed on its store, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) Chief Executive Officer Devin Nunes said in a statement: "It's been a pleasure to work with Google, and we're glad they helped us to finally bring Truth Social to all Americans, regardless of what device they use."
The Claim
Since it became available on the Google app store, Trump has shared a number of articles and posts on Truth Social stating that it had climbed to the top of the download charts.
"Did anyone happen to notice that Truth Social is Number One, ahead of TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, Amazon, and all others? Just asking," Trump wrote on October 17.
While the above message, which circulated in form of a screenshot on other social media sites, does not clarify exactly what service the former president was referring to, another message does.
Days earlier Trump also shared an article from the Just the News site titled: "Trump's Truth Social app soars to No. 1 on the Google Play store"
In the article, Nunes described how it "took us a while to get here," but Truth Social is leading other apps in the Google Play Store.
"We're glad to be here. So we're hopeful now that everyone who has an Android can either go to the Google Play Store or the Samsung Galaxy Store and download the app," Nunes said.
The Facts
According to SimilarWeb, which tracks website traffic and performance, Truth Social is currently the top ranking app for download on the Google Play Store in the U.S, although the leaderboard has not been updated since October 16.
Sensor Tower, an analytics platform, also states Truth Social was the top downloaded app in the U.S. on October 15 and 16, before dropping to second on October 17 and being placed fourth on October 18.
As of the morning of October 19, the AppBrain website also places Truth Social as the fourth most-downloaded free app in the U.S. with more than 100,000 downloads.
It is also worth noting that while the Store Rank metric factors in multiple parameters, including total downloads, recency of downloads, reviews, uninstalls, user experience, in-app revenues, and more, it is not equivalent to having the largest user base.
According to an April Forbes report, at the time Truth Social had at least 2 million active users, though that number has likely risen since its addition to Google Play.
When Truth Social was first launched in February, it also became the number free app on Apple's store just hours after it became available.
However, by April, Truth Social fell down the ranking on the Apple online store and was at one point the 173rd most popular app, according to SimilarWeb data.
Newsweek has reached out to Donald Trump and Google for comment.
The Ruling
Needs Context.
Truth Social did for a period "hit number one" following a surge of new downloads after it became available on the Google Play Store.
That was similar to the dynamic observed when it reached the top of the Apple download chart following its original release.
However, the app could not maintain its momentum and has already started to descend down the Google Play Store charts at the time of writing.
FACT CHECK BY NEWSWEEK
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, and Florida ... Read more