Trump sues Twitter, Facebook, Google – and immediately begins fundraising off the effort

Former President Donald Trump took his fight with three massive tech companies to court, filing lawsuits that legal experts say are all but guaranteed to fail – even as they rally Republican voters, fundraisers and donors. Trump revealed Wednesday that he is suing Facebook, Twitter and Google, as well as their respective CEOs Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey and Sundar Pichai, in class-action lawsuits.

Trump, who has a history of threatening legal action but not always following through, made the announcement at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, alongside two leaders from America First Policy Institute, the pro-Trump nonprofit group that is supporting the lawsuits. Shortly after the press conference wrapped, Trump’s political entities started sending out fundraising messages that touted the lawsuits in their appeals for money. One such text message, written in Trump’s voice, includes a link to his joint fundraising committee Save America, which also raises money for other Republican political initiatives.

The lawsuits were unveiled just over a month after Facebook decided to uphold Trump’s ban from using the platform until at least January 2023. Twitter, Trump’s preferred social media outlet throughout his one term in office, permanently banned him on the heels of the Jan. 6 invasion of the Capitol by a mob of his supporters.

Wall Street seemed largely unfazed by the news, as shares of Facebook and Google-parent Alphabet outperformed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite. Facebook was last seen off its session high north of 1% with a gain of 0.1%, while Alphabet added about 0.2%. Twitter was off its intraday low, but shed 0.5% in choppy trading. The moves in the social-media stocks compared with a loss of 0.1% for the S&P 500 and a dip of 0.3% for the Nasdaq.

Trump sues Twitter, Facebook, Google – and immediately begins fundraising off the effort, CNBC, Jul 8