Trump's words can move billions. Now his company is selling a head start

Who gets Trump's posts first? The new service raising legal and ethical questions Sun 9 Aug 2026 at 2:20pm US President Donald Trump knows the world hangs on his every word. A single social media post about tariffs, conflict in the Middle East or oil production can send stocks, commodities and currencies surging or plunging within seconds. Now, Trump's media company wants to sell some investors a head start. Earlier this month, the Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), which owns the Truth Social platform, launched a premium data service known as the Truth Social API. The company says subscribers can receive posts from selected high-profile accounts — including Trump's — within "milliseconds". According to Reuters, subscriptions cost between US$60,000 and US$100,000 per month, with several trading firms already signing up. The move has sparked legal and ethical questions, including whether it is appropriate for a company majority-owned by the sitting US president to profit from selling faster access to his market-moving statements. But some researchers say there may be an even bigger concern, with data they describe as "extremely suspicious" suggesting some traders could already be receiving information well before Trump’s posts appear publicly. Who is the service for? To most people, a few milliseconds of early access sounds meaningless. But modern financial markets increasingly move at computer speed rather than human speed, says Associate Professor Stephen Harrington from QUT's Digital Media Research Centre. Many of the world's biggest trading firms use high-frequency trading (HFT), with algorithms buying and selling shares in fractions of a second. "The only groups that are going to afford to subscribe to that service, and get a genuine advantage out of it, are high-frequency traders," Dr Harrington says. At least five trading firms have signed up so far, according to The Wall Street Journal. For companies trading billions of dollars every day, Dr Harrington says a US$100,000 monthly subscription is simply another business expense. "Getting even the slightest advantage — even when it comes down to just fractions of a second — can be useful." Does Trump stand to profit from it? Trump's family remain the controlling shareholders in Trump Media through a trust, meaning he could benefit financially if the company generates more revenue. According to the Associated Press, shares in the Truth Social parent company have fallen by 75 per cent since Trump returned to office last year. Despite Trump's continued use of the platform to announce major policy decisions, Trump Media has continued reporting hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. "Truth Social is essentially a scam," Dr Harrington says. "The whole thing was set up, not as a legitimate business, but potentially as a way to funnel money to Donald Trump rather than any serious money-making venture in the first place." Is it illegal? Finance researcher Dr Dewan Rahman from the University of Queensland's Business School says whether the arrangement is unlawful depends on exactly what subscribers are receiving. If the service simply delivers Trump's posts to paying customers a few milliseconds faster after they have already been published, then it is not illegal. "If you're paying for speed rather than information, then that's fine," Dr Rahman says. "The insider trading concern comes when you have an information advantage." He says premium market data feeds that deliver public information in machine-readable formats within milliseconds are already common across financial markets. The critical question, Dr Rahman says, is whether subscribers are also obtaining advance knowledge that a market-moving announcement is coming. "If someone has private information beforehand — or even an indication that an announcement is coming — that's where the concern begins," he says. "So we need to know those things and it's a question for investigation later on." Dr Rahman says any evidence that politically connected firms received advance warning of presidential announcements would raise significant insider trading concerns. The service also raises ethical questions, QUT's Dr Harrington says. "When we see a post on Truth Social, how do we know if that's informing the American people and everyone else in the world — or acting in his own financial interests?" he says. "Public pronouncements by a sitting president should go out to everyone equally at the same time. There shouldn't be a sellable tier where people get that information first." The White House did not respond to media requests for comment, but Trump has previously rejected criticism of his financial dealings. Last month, he defended making about US$1.2 billion from cryptocurrency ventures in 2025, saying "everybody is profiting" from the stock market's gains since he returned to the White House. A CNN/SSRS poll released in late July found 64 per cent of respondents believed Trump had gone "too far" in pursuing personal financial interests while in office. Do Trump's posts really move markets? Like any US president, Trump's public statements can move markets because they often signal changes to government policy or major geopolitical events. Investors have reacted sharply to his announcements on tariffs, sanctions, military action and energy policy, while oil prices are particularly sensitive to developments in the Middle East. But Dr Harrington says his team's latest research, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, points to something more "unusual". After analysing market activity surrounding Trump's Truth Social posts over a 73-day window, the researchers found 15 instances in which oil markets appeared to move before he posted on the topic. In some cases, trading activity increased several minutes before the posts became public. The researchers cannot say for certain why this happened or who was responsible, but Dr Harrington says the statistical pattern is difficult to dismiss as coincidence. "It looks extremely suspicious," he says. "What it seems like is that there are trades being placed by someone with inside information about what the president is about to say in the hour or two leading up to him posting on Truth Social." Dr Harrington cautions the findings alone cannot prove insider trading is taking place, but says the repeated pattern suggests there may be a more sophisticated strategy at play. "In reality, the milliseconds [advantage] aren't really the secret sauce," he says. "If someone is getting information many minutes beforehand, that's where the real money is being made." [Image text:] J.TrmoOC THE SAVE AMERICA ACT! 1.ALL VOTERS MUST SHOWPHOTOLD.DENTFICATION 2.ALL VOTERS MUST SHOW PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP 3.NOMAILN BALLOTSEXCTFORSDSABTY MILITARYORTRAVEL 4.NOMENINWOMENS SPORTS. 5.NO TRANSGENDERMUTILIZATION SURGERYFOR OUR CHILDREN. 3.15kReTruths9.87kes n42026136PM